Seer
by Kasamyra
Summary: After getting into a car wreck on the freeway in Wisconsin, somehow Aria wakes up as an 11 year old, at the Burrow, surrounded by people she, until that point, thought were fictional. Now she must navigate her way through Hogwarts without letting on that she knows exactly what will happen next because she read it in a book. Is she dreaming, or is there some kind of magic at play?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Dimension Jumping Seems Plausible

"Hey guys, I'm heading out now if that's okay," Aria called through the darkened restaurant to her coworkers who were busy cleaning and going through the nightly closing tasks.

"No prob," she heard Taylor call back. "Thanks for staying late… again," she added.

"It's fine," Aria said, walking over to lean against the half wall by the register. "It's not like I do anything else anyway."

"Well I feel bad that you are always the one to stay late," Taylor commented as she counted out the dollar bills in the register. Aria waited until she was done counting to continue the conversation so she didn't ruin Taylor's concentration.

"I don't mind staying late. Anyway, I'll see you on Thursday," she said, pushing off the wall.

"Bye," Taylor called, moving on to the coins in the register.

"Bye!" She heard Grace, the other worker call from the front where she was sweeping the floor.

Aria waved to her before turning to walk out the back door to the parking lot. Double checking that the door was locked behind her, she turned and pulled her keys from her purse and sighed, walking to her car.

At 23 years of age, Aria had expected to be doing something worthwhile with her life, but instead, she was stuck working a dead end job at a restaurant, paying off student loans for the art school she hadn't finished. She lived alone, in a tiny apartment, and spent all of her time at work. Her parent's had moved out of state after Aria and her younger sister had graduated high school, and while Aria liked Wisconsin well enough, she wished she could at least get away for a little bit. That was the whole point of her taking the next three days off. She had been meaning to drive down to Missouri to visit her sister and brother-in-law. Aria had packed a small duffle bag, hoping to leave when her shift ended at 5, but she had stayed late and now it was almost 10, so she wasn't sure if she wanted to make the eight hour drive that night. She let her car idle for a moment, then decided she wasn't going to waste the only time she'd had to see Renee in over a year. She stopped at the gas station next door to get a coffee and fuel up, then headed toward the freeway which, hopefully, would be mostly empty this time of night.

Aria had made two more stops for coffee and just barely crossed the border from Wisconsin to Illinois when something strange began happening. The radio station she had been singing along to became static. This was expected as she was quite a ways from her normal area, but as the pushed through the seek buttons, no other stations came in, everything was all static. She frowned, but didn't look down too long, since she was going quite fast on the nearly empty freeway. She felt around in her purse with one hand, looking for her iPod, but came up empty. With a sigh, she glanced over at her overnight bag for a second, wondering if she had put it in there instead. She unzipped the small front pocket, glancing out of the corner of her eye and sure enough, her iPod fell out onto the floor.

She let out a frustrated sigh, then looked up at the road. Determining that the highway was straight, and empty of cars, she reached down to the floor, keeping her hand steady on the wheel, and immediately grabbed the device and straightened, only to see she had drifted dangerously close to the median. She jerked the wheel to the right on instinct, then screamed as she began to lose control of the vehicle. She slammed on the brakes and began to skid into the ditch between the two directions of road. The car tipped over as it left the pavement, rolling over twice and finally coming to a stop upside down in the bottom of the wide median. Dizzily, Aria lifted a hand to her aching head as she hung upside down, suspended by her seat belt. Her hair was hanging over her head, and it felt warm and sticky. Black spots danced around the sides of her vision as she tried to squint through the darkness at her hands, which were now covered with dark liquid. She blindly reached a hand toward her purse and duffle bag that now rested on the ceiling, trying to find her phone to call for help. Her eyes closed momentarily as she tried to focus on what she was doing, but her head swam and everything faded away from her until she couldn't feel anything at all.

"Mum! Mum, I think she's waking up!" Aria heard an excited voice say from her side. She tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn't obey her, so she settled for taking a deep breath in. She was met by a barrage of smells, some were familiar, like the scent of slightly musty furniture, the faint smell of fast food coming frothier clothes, a flowery smelling sop or shampoo, but everything else was new to her. As she woke up further, she noticed a variety of sounds around her as well, there was a kettle boiling somewhere nearby, and it must have been raining outside, she could hear the drops hitting a glass window nearby.

A flurry of colors bloomed behind her eyelids as she remembered what had just happened, and she sat up with a gasp, her eyes finally flying open. She brought a hand up to her head where there had been blood, expecting to encounter bandages or something, but instead when she touched her hair, it was it's normal smooth self. She ran her hands over it, surprised at not feeling any aches or pains at all. She assumed her car was totaled, and she had expected to be hurt. And in a hospital for that matter. She looked around the slightly cluttered living room and frowned, not recognizing anything.

She swung her legs over the side of the couch she had been laying on, but before she could stand, a plump red haired woman came bustling into the room, followed closely by a small girl, who looked to be about 9 or 10.

"How do you feel dear?" The woman said, coming to a halt in front of the couch. She had a motherly air about her, reminding Aria strongly of her mother.

"Great," Aria said distractedly, taking a side note of the woman's British accent. "Sorry to be rude, but where am I? And who are you?" She asked, trying to keep her words even and calm, not wanting to retry her confusion and worry.

"You are at our house. I'm Molly Weasley, this is my daughter Ginny," she said, and Aria's mouth dropped open as she stared up at them.

Finally she closed her mouth, trying to find something to say.

"Is this a joke?" She asked at last, making the middle aged woman frown in confusion.

"No dear," she said slowly, then hesitated. "Is there something wrong?"

"How did I get here?" Aria asked, ignoring her question and trying to get to her feet. She frowned, noticing that the woman was taller than her. Aria had never been tall, but she had a good height on her, and it threw her off that everything in the room seemed larger than normal.

"Well, two of my sons found you passed out in the yard this morning, so we brought you inside," she said, running her eyes over Aria again, searching for any sign of injury. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I-," Aria began, then hesitated and shook her head. There is no way she could be where she thought she was. She must be dreaming. "I don't remember."

She sat back down on the couch in a daze, resisting the urge to pinch herself.

"Ginny, go and get a cup of tea for our visitor," Mrs. Weasley said after an awkward moment of silence. Ginny ran off to the kitchen, Aria watching her go, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening.

"Do you know where your parent's are, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked softly, as though trying not to spook her.

"My parents? They both live in Alaska," Aria said without thought, frowning distractedly. Why was she there? What had happened?

"Alaska? In the United States? Well, that explains you accent then. Were you just on vacation in London then?" Mrs. Weasley asked slowly, looking like she was trying to figure out a puzzle.

"No, I was driving, um, I'm just here alone," Aria said, shaking her head again.

"Alone? My goodness, you are far too young to be wandering around alone, what were they thinking?" Mrs. Weasley said, sounding completely scandalized. Her tone drew Aria out of her thoughts for a moment.

"I'm old enough to take care of myself," Aria said, frowning at her overbearing nature.

"I'm sure youthink are dear, but it's not safe. My son Ronald is your age, and I would never let him leave the property alone, let alone the country," she said, bustling around the room and straightening things as she went. Aria was half ignoring her as she accepted the cup of tea Ginny had just brought to her.

"Wait, wait, wait," Aria said, interrupting Mrs. Weasley's ranting as she took in what she had said. Both Weasley's fell silent and stared at her as she stood.

"You are Ginny right?" She asked, pointing at the young girl who nodded. "But, that means…" she trailed off, then looked around the room for something reflective. She spotted a tall grandfather clock with a glass front, and stepped in front of it quickly, taking in her reflection with her mouth hanging open. She brought her free hand up to her face, then ran it over the front of her body quickly.

"Holy shit," she said, ignoring Mrs. Weasley's gasp of indignation behind her. "I'm 11. What the hell?" Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she hit the floor, her cup of tea spill ion over her legs and the floor.

It was dark outside the next time Aria opened her eyes, and she could see that the rain had stopped. She stood, looking around her again, then pinched her arm roughly, leaving a red mark behind. When she didn't 'wake up', she frowned and looked down at herself again. She was still wearing her work uniform, which were black slacks, and a light blue blouse with the logo of the restaurant below her left shoulder. She ran her hand over the shirt, taking a moment to marvel at the fact that she no longer had breasts, but rather, a flat chest. She ran her hands through her hair next, noting that it was no longer waist length and red, as she had worn it since high school, but rather light brown and shoulder length, with bangs, a style she'd had throughout middle school.

She was startled from her self analysis by hushed voices from a room nearby. She stood and wandered over to the doorway, staying to the side of it so whoever was in the room wouldn't notice her.

"And then she just fainted," she heard Mrs. Weasley saying. After a moment of silence, Aria peeked around the doorway to see who she was talking to, but came face to face with an old man with long gray hair and a beard to match.

"Oh, hello," Aria said. "I was just coming to see Mrs. Weasley." Aria stood with her hands behind her back, and looked up at the tall man in front of her, whom she assumed to be Dumbledore.

"I'm glad to see you are awake," he said in a deep voice, taking a step back into the kitchen and gesturing for her to sit at the table, which was occupied by Mr. Weasley and three cups of tea. Mrs. Weasley had stood to pour another cup for her. "Now, can you tell me how you managed to be here?"

"I don't really remember what happened," Aria said, immediately making up her mind not to tell them anything, not wanting to sound insane. "I was in a car… I think it was a cab," she began, trying to figure out what to say. "And, I think it went into the ditch," she said, to make it sound like she was with others. "I don't remember where it was, but then I woke up here." She looked up at the old man, hoping he wound't think anything of her much lacking description.

"Mrs. Weasley said that her sons found you and your bags in the yard," Dumbledore said, his eyes glittering with a hidden amusement.

"I don't know how I got here," Aria said, frowning. Her voice was much higher pitched than she was used to, now that she was paying attention to it. "The last thing I remember is the car rolling over."

"Do you think maybe… she apparated here by accident?" Mr. Weasley said, and Aria almost let out a sigh of longing. To be able to do magic… that would be amazing.

"It is possible," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.

"Um, what year is it?" Aria asked, suddenly realizing just how out of her time she was.

"It's 1991. July to be exact," Dumbledore said with a smile as the Weasley's gave her an odd look.

Aria's mouth fell open again, but just for a second. She hadn't even been born until 1991. Somewhere in the world, there was a version of her parents with a 3 month old version of her. She closed her mouth as she thought. Maybe she could go find them, they would have been living in Alaska at the time, still together and married, that would be something to see. And in six months, her mother would find out she was pregnant with Aria's little sister. And then a year after her sister was born, they would get a divorce and move away. Maybe… maybe she could go back and try to get them to stay together. Maybe the other her could grow up in a whole family, without shared custody and summers spent away. Aria shook her head then, trying to gather her thoughts. If her parents never got divorced, her mother would never move to Wisconsin with the two girls, and then her sister would never have met her husband, and Aria wouldn't have met all the wonderful people she had become friends with in high school. She focused on the conversation at the table just in time to hear Dumbledore ask to speak to her alone. As the Weasley's left the room, Aria looked up at Dumbledore, getting the sudden impression that he knew more than she had told him.

"Now, what year are you from," he said, and Aria made sure to keep her face completely blank. She wasn't sure what she should tell him. She didn't want to change something important in the story.

"I was born in April of this year," she said at last, sure that him knowing that much wouldn't change anything.

"I see. And do you remember what happened to get you here, like this," he asked, resting his chin on his folded hands.

"I… remember some of it. But I don't want to tell you in case it changes this timeline," Aria said hesitantly, not wanting to anger him. From what she could recall of the Harry Potter universe, which was quite a bit as that was her best subject at trivia night with her friends, he was usually very calm, but she wasn't sure what her presence here would change.

"Very astute of you," Dumbledore said, a small smile on his face, which quickly faded to a thoughtful look. "You say change this time, which implies that you know something about the future of this time, correct?"

Aria frowned, she hadn't meant to give any of that away, but if someone was to know, she supposed it should be Dumbledore. Even though she didn't agree with the way he had handled the whole 'keeping Harry alive just to die at the right time' thing, she couldn't argue with the results.

"I know… a bit," she said, not elaborating. Dumbledore looked at her face for a long moment, then nodded.

"I see," he said. "I don't suppose…" he said thoughtfully, then trailed off.

"Suppose what Professor?" Aria asked when he didn't continue. He focused on her again.

"How much of the future do you know of this time?" Dumbledore asked, then was quick to add "I don't need the details."

"Well," Aria said, after a moment of thought. "I am from the year 2014, so I know what happens before that," she said, not mentioning that in her time, none of them actually existed.

"Hm," he said, folding his hands in front of him again. "Do you happen to know how you became eleven then, if you were 23 when you came here?"

"I dunno," Aria said, shrugging.

"And this is the same time you left behind you, correct?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes gazing over his glasses in curiosity.

"More or less," she said evasively.

"So you are a witch then?" Dumbledore asked, giving her an encouraging smile.

"I... don't know," Aria said frowning. She for sure was normal in her old time, but perhaps here she was magical, since magic existed here.

"I see," he said, a pensive look on his face. "Well, you must have some sort of magic, since you were able to enter the wards placed around this building, and your eyes change colors, I suspect based off your emotions."

"They what?" She asked, tilting her head to one side. She had been born with her fathers eyes, and they were one of her best features, in her opinion. They were a hazel green color, with lances of light brown around the edges. When she was young, there had been a bit of blue around the iris as well, but it had faded to green as she grew, just as her sisters light blue eyes had grown darker. As far as she knew, that was the extent of her eye color changes.

"Your eyes have shifted between green and blue for the last twenty minutes or so, is this not something that has happened previously?" Dumbledore asked, though he didn't sound surprised. Aria shook her head, resolving to find a mirror as soon as she could. "Well sometimes the untrained mind can let magic escape their grasps at emotional times."

"Magic… does that mean I can attend Hogwarts?" She asked, the name sounding totally ridiculous to her, as her mind continually told her that these things didn't exist, and magic didn't exist, and the person sitting in front of her was fictional. Dumbledore gave her another smile.

"I would say that is likely, but you will have to wait for your letter," he said. "Which should actually be arriving in a few weeks. Now," he said, adopting a serious expression. "If you are to stay here, you must be sure not to change anything about the timeline, for it could change your future. Things must happen as you remember them for the most part. You must not interfere with events here," he said, and Aria let out a worried frown as she thought about all the deaths that would occur in only a few years. She nodded, to let him know she had heard, but there was no way she was agreeing to not meddling in things if she could keep someone alive without ruining everything later down the road. She tried to recall exactly who died in each book, but she could only recall a few of the more popular characters, as it had been a few years since she had read through the series.

"You said my luggage was here?" She asked, suddenly remembering that in her bag, she had her computer and her Kindle, both of which had copies of all seven books.

"Yes, you would have to ask Mrs. Weasley where she stowed it," he said, giving her a nod. "May I suggest that you don't tell anyone about what we have discussed here," he said, and she nodded again. "I think it best to say that your parents sent you to this country for schooling. You can say you forgot that until now."

"But, where will I stay while I'm here? And for that matter, how do I get back to my time? And what am I going to do about money? I think I have a little American money with me, but that won't do me any good here," Aria said, rambling. She stopped when Dumbledore held up a hand to make her fall silent.

"I think for now, Molly will let you stay here. You can say you were meant to live with a muggle aunt or cousin, but prefer to stay here for now. We can arrange something else for next summer. As for how you will get back, I am not sure that you can. Pulling someone back in time, in theory, is possible, but sending someone to the future isn't possible yet," he said, and Aria struggled to keep her face from falling. "As for money, you can exchange American money at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and the school will give you a small fund which should do for getting your supplies."

Aria nodded, trying not to let her eyes water at the thought of not being able to go home. She had never been so emotional in her old body, and already this one was threatening to cry. She took a deep breath in, clearing her thoughts like she did for meditation.

"Now, one last thing," Dumbledore said, getting to his feet. "What is your name," he asked, a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Aria Gray," Aria said, a smile on her face now. She held her hand out to him. "It was nice to meet you professor."

"And you as well, Ms. Gray," he said with a smile. "Now, I must have a word with Molly about you staying with her for the rest of the summer. Farewell."

Aria gave him a small wave from her spot at the table, then turned back to her cold tea, thinking furiously.

She would have to learn how to keep her emotions and reactions to herself. And she would have to think about every single thing she said or did, so people didn't get suspicious. She sighed, suddenly not excited at all to attend the magic school she had spent time thinking about throughout her childhood.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by Mrs. Weasley bustling back into the kitchen.

"Well it's all arranged dear, you can stay here until school starts," Mrs. Weasley said, putting together a sandwich and putting it on a plate in front of her.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley, I appreciate it," Aria said, then frowned down at the plate. She wasn't used to people taking care of her, it had been years since she moved out on her own.

"It's no problem at all dear, we need more girls around here anyway," she said, making Aria smile at her. Aria let out a small yawn, not understanding how she could be tired after having just been passed out on a couch all day.

"Um, did you say you found my bags?" Aria asked, setting down the uneaten half of her sandwich a few minutes later.

"Yes of course, I put them up in Ginny's room for now, you'll have to share with her, we are a bit tight on space here at the moment, with Bill home to visit as well," she said, waving her wand and making the dishes in the sink wash themselves.

"That's alright," Aria said, getting to her feet. Her cloths were a few sizes too big for her, and the pants were much too long, so she had to be careful to hold them up as she followed Mrs. Weasley up two flights of stairs.

"Here we are," Mrs. Weasley said, coming to a stop outside a door on the second landing. "You can meet everyone at breakfast tomorrow. There is a bathroom right across the hall if you need one," she said, then she pulled Aria into a hug, surprising the girl who usually kept pretty much to herself. Aria couldn't remember the last time she had been hugged by anyone, let alone someone who reminded her so much of her mother. She patted the older woman on the back a few times before she was released and hurried into Ginny's room with a mumbled good night to Mrs. Weasley.

Aria let out a sigh, then turned to see Ginny sitting up in her bed, looking at her expectantly.

"Ah, sorry," Aria said, walking over to the cot that was obviously hers. "I should have knocked."

"It's fine," Ginny said, grinning at her and turning on her bed to face Aria's cot.

"So, does your mother always hug everybody like that?" Aria asked, trying to distract Gunny from any questions she was going to ask.

"Oh, yeah, she's very huggy," Ginny said, giggling slightly. "So, where are you from? How did you get in our yard earlier?"

"Oh, I don't really know," Aria said, sitting on her bed and pulling her duffle bag towards her. "I must have apparated by accident, I was in a car crash, so I think maybe I just did magic by accident," Aria said, trying to make it sound like she didn't know how all that worked. "My parents lived as muggles, so I didn't know about magic until a few weeks ago," she continued, hoping to answer any other questions the girl might have. Aria knew she probably didn't know how car's worked, coming from an all magic family.

"Oh, thats so weird. I wish I could apparate. I'm not old enough to do magic yet," Ginny said, laying back on her bed as Aria fished out the sweat pants and a t-shirt she had packed away. She knew they would probably be too big, but it was better than sleeping in her work clothes. "If you apparated by accident, how did your stuff come with you?" Ginny asked suddenly, making Aria raise her head in thought.

"I don't know. I suppose it's because I was touching it when I, um, disapparated," Aria said, trying to remember what had happened right before she passed out. She had been reaching to her upturned luggage to find her phone. She couldn't remember if she had managed to touch it or not, but that seemed like the most likely scenario.

"Oh cool," Ginny said, then grinned over at her again. "I'm glad you are here. I've always wanted a sister, but I only have brothers, it sucks."

"I don't have any brothers at all, just one sister," Aria said, smiling over at Ginny. She stood and looked around the room for a moment.

"That must be nice," Ginny said, smiling wistfully.

"Well, I've always wanted a brother, maybe we just want what we don't have," Aria said, still smiling. She really did like Ginny in the books, and Ginny in person was more interesting.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go change," Aria said, pulling the bedroom door open and walking across the hall.

The bathroom was barley large enough to hold a shower, toilet and sink, with hardly any room to stand. Aria stripped out of her work uniform, then stood in front of the small mirror to look at herself. Her face was round and childish, just as it had been in pictures she had of herself from that age. Her hair was it's natural mousey brown color. She sighed, twisting it around her finger. Now she would have to grow it out all over again, and she hated the color. She had gotten so used to the subtle red tint in her hair the last six years or so. She sighed, then brought her eyes down to her chest. Not having to wear a bra would be so great for the next few years. If she remembered correctly, she hadn't gone through puberty until right before her thirteenth birthday. She grinned at the thought of not having to deal with cramps and cycles until then. And not having to shave her legs. Maybe being a child again would be nice for a while, she grinned at herself in the mirror. She could start over and not make the mistake she did in high school of not caring about what she ate. Then she wouldn't have to work so hard to lose weight when she got to her 20's again.

She shook her head, chuckling at herself. She pulled on her sweats, pulling the string tight around her hips to get them to stay, then pulled her shirt over her head, seeing that it was much more spacious than she needed. She would have to find some way to obtain new clothes while she was here. Money wasn't an option, but then again, she had never really had a problem with shop lifting before. She was pretty good at lying and getting out of situations when she wanted to.

It was only July, maybe she would have time before school started to take a trip to whatever the nearest village was and do some… shopping.

She slipped back into Ginny's room a moment later to hunt through her make up bag for her toothbrush and tooth paste, then disappeared back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. By the time she was back and ready for bed, Ginny had fallen asleep, so Aria quietly settled onto her bed and began to go through her things. All the clothes would be too big for her, but she had a pair of leggings and a dress she could wear the next day. She pulled them out of her bag and set them next to her, then picked through the other clothes she had brought, seeing if anything would still fit her smaller frame. She saved the two t-shirts, they would make good sleeping shirts if nothing else. None of the jeans she had brought would fit, and the sweats were not good for public wear. She would have to try to get away to town the next day sometime.

She overturned her bag, tucking the unwanted clothes back inside before turning to the other things inside. She had her macbook, something she was sure wasn't even close to invention in this time, and her Kindle, something else she was sure wasn't invented yet. She had the charging cords for them and her iPhone and iPod as well, but there was no electricity in the house, so everything would be useless as soon as the batteries died. If she recalled correctly, muggle things didn't work around magic anyway. She made sure her phone and computer were turned off, then tucked them away with the clothes she wouldn't wear. Her makeup and bathroom bags were there too, and she tucked those away next, then her too big t-shirts on top of them, zipping the bag up when she was done and slipping it under her cot next to her purse that held her wallet. She then got under the blanket and flipped on her Kindle, smiling as the screen lit up and seemed to work well, even though the house was probably covered with magic. She settled down, beginning to read the first chapter of the Harry Potter series.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Panic Is An Acceptable Reaction

"Ariaaaaa," a voice called, making her open her eyes. It took her a moment to realize that she wasn't at home in her own bed. She sat up with a frown, looking towards the voice that had been babbling. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands.

"Mum says it's time to get up if you want a shower, because once the boys get up all the bathrooms will be taken. And if we don't get down to breakfast before them, there won't be anything left," Ginny was saying. Aria blinked at her for a moment, then stood and stretched. Ginny was already dressed for the day, the long red hair in wet clumps around her shoulders.

"Alright, I'm up, thanks for waking me," Aria said, grabbing the dress and leggings she has set out last night.

Once she was showered and dressed with her hair towel dried, Aria wandered down the stairs to the Kitchen, where she could hear Mrs. Weasley talking.

"Good morning Mrs. Weasley," Aria said, walking through the doorway.

"Oh good morning dear. I don't know if you were introduced last night, but this is my husband Arthur," she said, using her wand to make a plate of bacon fly to the table where Mr. Weasley sat reading the paper and drinking coffee. Aria took a seat in the same chair she had occupied the previous night, trying to stay out of the way of the flying food. Ginny had sat next to her father and was already eating, so Aria took a piece of toast and began to butter it.

"Do you want anything to drink dear? We have tea or orange juice or milk," Mrs. Weasley offered, coming over to give Aria a napkin and push her damp bangs out of her face. Aria nearly jumped at the contact, not used to being doted on.

"Uh, could I have some coffee by any chance?" Aria asked, glancing at the cup Mr. Weasley held.

"Coffee?" Mrs. Weasley asked, blinking. "Sure I guess, but if you haven't had it before you won't like it," she said, scuttling away to fill a mug with coffee.

"I've had it before," she said as Mrs. Weasley carried the mug back to her. "My dad drank it all the time," she added as an explanation in case one was needed.

Aria sighed as she sipped the warm liquid, and a headache she didn't know she had began to ebb. She nibbled on her toast, not really that hungry so early in the morning. She figured Mrs. Weasley might have tried to make her eat more, but at that moment there were thundering footsteps coming down the stairs, and before Aria could blink, there were three more red headed children at the table, all of them reaching for food across the table.

"Fred! George! Ron! Behave, we have a guest," Mrs. Weasley snapped, making all three of them freeze and turn towards Aria.

"Um, hi," she said, holding back a smile of amusement.

"This is Ronald," Mrs. Weasley said pointing to the shortest red head. "The twins are Fred and George," she continued, pointing at the identical boys. Aria frowned, not being able to tell them apart. "Oh, and here comes Percy and Bill," she continues as two older boys came down the stairs.

She picked out Percy by his bright red Prefects badge, and then recognized Bill from his longer hair and his fang shaped earring, very similar to how he was described in the last book.

"Hi," Aria said, waving at them as they came in.

"Boys, this is Aria, she is staying with us for the rest of the summer," Mrs. Weasley said, then turned back to the stove. As soon as her back was turned, the twins and Ron began to fight over the food again and Aria let out a chuckle. The atmosphere of the room was friendly, and very loud, which was not what Aria was used to, coming from a small family that didn't take meals together.

"So, what are you boys up to today?" Mrs. Weasley asked the table at large as she finally took a seat and began to eat.

"I'm finished with my summer homework, so I'm going to spend time reading ahead in my books," Percy said, sitting straight backed. The twins snickered at him, and Aria let out a small smile as well. Everyone in this family was exactly how she imagined they would be.

"I was thinking about going into town," Bill said, and Aria perked up a bit.

"Oh can we go too mum? Please?" One of the twins asked, both grinning widely.

"I suppose so," Mrs. Weasley said. "As long as Bill agrees."

"May I go along as well? I'd like to see the town," Aria asked, making Mrs. Weasley frown slightly.

"I don't know if you should be moving around so much. You were unconscious most of yesterday," she said.

"I feel fine, I promise," Aria said, trying not to feel irritated. It had been a very long time since she'd had to ask permission to go somewhere, and she didn't much like it.

"Well, alright. Just make sure you stay close to the boys," she said after a moment.

"Can I go too mum?" Ron asked, his mouth half full of bacon.

"No, You and Ginny still haven't finished your chores from this week," Mrs. Weasley said, scowling at them. They both sunk farther into their chairs.

"I'm off to work in a few minutes," Mr. Weasley said, folding up his paper.

Aria finished her toast, then ran upstairs to get her shoes, which were now a couple sizes too large, and was back downstairs by the time the boys were ready to go.

"So, what's your story?" One of the twins asked as the four of them walked down the road towards the village.

"Why are you staying here?" The other one continued, coming to walk on either side of Aria. At only 13, both of them were still quite short, only a few inches taller than she was.

"Well," she said, not really sure what story she should tell them. After a few moments, she settled on one. "I'm from America, I was going to stay with my aunt, but she's a muggle and she really understand magic. It makes her uncomfortable, so Dumbledore said it would be better if I could stay here for now."

"So you move here from America?" The twin on her right asked.

"I wanted to go to Hogwarts," Aria said in explanation, smiling. "I've wanted to go since I was little." At least that wasn't a lie. She had dreamed about it when she was younger.

"Oh," the twin on the left said, nodding. "So your parent's were magical?"

"Yeah, but they lived as muggles for my whole life," Aria said. She had decided last night that this was the best explanation for why she knew about magic but hadn't seen it before.

"That's odd," the right twin said.

"Yeah. For a really long time I thought that Hogwarts and magic was just a story," Aria said, smiling at the irony of that. "I didn't actually know magic existed until a few weeks ago."

Both boys nodded and fell silent. Aria was content, walking down the road with the three red hairs boys, and she actually started becoming excited for the school year to begin.

"So whats with the eyes?" It was Bill's turn for questions now, it seemed. He had been walking a little ahead of them, off to the right, but obviously he'd been listening.

"The eyes?" Aria asked, then frowned. She had completely forgotten that Dumbledore had mentioned a change in her eyes last night. "I'm not sure. It's new."

"It's awesome you mean," one of the twins said, and she couldn't help but grin back at their expressions. "Can you do any other colors besides blue?"

"I have no idea," she said, shrugging.

"You should try. The blue yours turn is a little creepy," the other twin said, chuckling. "It's almost… cold."

"I'll work on it," she said, shaking her head.

"Alright you three," Bill said as they finally reached the outskirts of the village. "As long as you all stick together, you can go wherever you want. I'll meet you back here in an hour." They nodded and he left, heading toward what Aria recognized as a cafe.

"He's going to flirt with the waitress," one of the twins said, smirking.

"He come's down every Friday at this time," the other twin said.

"And he thinks we don't notice," the first twin finished, shaking his head.

Aria chuckled at them, then looked around, spotting a clothing store not far from them.

"Can we go in there?" She asked, pointing. Both boys groaned. "Not for long, I just want to look around," she continued, giving them the puppy dog eyes. They looked at each other for a moment, then back at Aria.

"We'll tell you what,"

"As long as you don't tell,"

"And meet us before Bill comes back,"

"We can split up."

"Do you know how annoying it is when you do that?" Aria asked, looking between them with a frown on her face. They both smiled identical grins and nodded.

"Fine, I don't care. Come find me in there whenever you are done with whatever you are doing," Aria said, then turned to walk away before they could answer.

She wandered into the store, taking note of the old building and the single door and the bored looking girl behind the counter. Looking around at the slight clutter, she realized that this must be a second hand store, which made her feel much better about her mornings plans.

She nodded to the girl at the desk when she walked in, and waited until the girl went back to reading her magazine to start scanning the shelves. She picked up a couple pairs of jeans and a few t-shirts and wandered back to the changing rooms.

After finding two pairs of jeans that fit and three t -shirts, she peeked through her door to see if the girl was still at her desk, then slipped back inside and pulled off her dress and leggings. She slipped one pair of pants on, then the other one right over it, and rolled up the bottoms so they were the same length as the leggings, then pulled those on over it. Her legs looked a little bulky in places, but it was passible. No one would notice. Then she pulled the t-shirts on in the same manner, making sure the sleeves were tucked under the sleeves of her dress. She stepped out of the changing room, carrying another pair of jeans and two shirts that hadn't fit very well, then wandered over to the shoe section. She tried on a few pairs of trainers until she found one that fit. She could see the girl glance up from her magazine a few times, but not out of suspicion. When she thought she had procrastinated long enough, Aria put on a pair of sneakers that fit her, and carried her own shoes and the clothes she didn't want up to the counter and set them down, reaching in the pocket of her dress to pull out some American dollar bills.

"Um, excuse me, do you accept American money here?" She asked, doing her best to make her voice sound innocent and curious. The girl raised an eyebrow, then shook her head.

"Sorry, love, we only use Euros," she said, and Aria sighed in fake disappointment.

"Sorry to bother you then," she said, pushing the things across the counter and turning to leave the store. She let out a breath as she left the store without a problem, and wandered over to the bench in front of it to wait for the twins to come back. She only had to wait about ten minutes, and once they came back, the three of them went to the cafe where Bill was sitting at the counter, smiling at a pretty girl with dark brown hair.

"Can we go home now, it's been an hour," one of the twins asked.

"Fine, come on, lets go," Bill said, standing with a sigh and leaving some muggle money on the counter.

When they got home, the twins disappeared upstairs, probably to hide whatever they had gotten in town from their mother, and Aria followed behind them to Ginny's room. The other girl wasn't there, so Aria quickly stripped off the clothes she had taken and tucked them away. She had just straightened her dress when Ginny came bounding into the room.

"Want to play a game of Quidditch with the others? We need one more to make the teams even because Percy won't play," she said, bouncing on the balls of he feet.

"I've never flown before," Aria said, following Ginny down the stairs anyway.

"That's okay, you can be keeper, then you don't have to move around too much," Ginny said, grinning as they left the house and started out to the field where the others were already zooming around on broomsticks.

"Aria!" Ginny called from behind her, and she turned in surprise. The small girl was jogging up to Aria, holding two very old looking brooms.

"Sorry, I thought you were right behind me," Aria said, taking the broom Ginny handed her.

"It's fine, I just went to the broom shed," Ginny said, gesturing to a worn wooden building a ways from the house. "This is Charlie's old broom, it doesn't go very fast but I thought it would be okay since you haven't flown before."

"Okay," Aria said, nodding along and trying to see how the others were seated on the broom. She threw one leg over, making are her dress was secured under her legs, and gripped the handle tightly, slightly nervous of taking off. She still wasn't used to the whole magic thing, it felt like a dream almost.

"Good," Ginny said, adjusting where Aria's hands were. "Just hold on there, and jump up hard to get started, I'll show you," she said, then mounted the broom and kicked off hard. Her broom looked hesitant to fly at first, but then it picked up and she flew off to the field. Aria watched the others for a moment, then looked down at her broom, closed her eyes, and jumped into the air as Ginny had. She half expected to come crashing down on the grass, but when nothing happened for a moment she opened her eyes. She found herself hovering a few feet off the ground, her toes just brushing the top of the long grass. She grinned and leaned forward to put her feet on the stirrups, and nearly screamed as she began to move forward.

"It's really easy once you get the hang of it," Ginny called, zooming up beside Aria and coming to a stop. "Just lean forward to go faster, and pull up on the handle to slow down. Lean to the sides to turn, just be careful not to turn too fast or you'll fall off. Ready?"

Aria nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth. She leaned forward slightly, flying next to Ginny as the approached the field.

The boys all called greetings, then split up into teams, Charlie, Ron and Fred on one side, and Aria, Ginny and George on the other. They only used the Quaffle, two people zooming around with the ball, and the last one guarding the single large goal, which was actually just left over parts of an old fence on once side, and the space between the chicken coop and the gravel drive on the other side. None of the players flew too high, not wanting to be spotted by the distant village, and Aria was grateful they stayed low to the ground.

After nearly half an hour, Aria was confident enough to take a hand off the broom to try to block the ball from going in her goal, and when she finally stopped one, her team cheered, making her feel better about flying.

They called it quits after a few hours, heading inside for lunch. They hadn't been keeping score, but if they had, Aria's team would have lost spectacularly, thanks to her abysmal keeping skills.

Sitting around the table with the whole family, laughing and joking, made Aria oddly home sick, and she picked at her food, a frown on her face. She'd had a cat at home, who would take care of him now? Hopefully the friend she had gotten to take care of him for her three day's away would continue to look after him. And what would happen to her apartment when she wasn't there to pay the bills? What would happen to her things? Who would tell her family she wasn't there anymore? Or did she just not exist in her world anymore? Was she just never born? Would kids there pick up the Harry Potter books and read about a boy and his three friends instead of a boy and his two friends? What would happen if she changed the story line? How could she possibly keep from changing things? Just her being there would change things, wouldn't it? She couldn't just sit back and let all those people die…

At that moment, though she couldn't see it, her eyes had turned a pale blue, almost grey color while she thought. She turned to watch the twins across the table. There was no way she could let Fred die during the war, not if she could prevent it. She looked around at the family again. In just a few years Ginny would be taken over by Voldemort, Bill would get mauled by a werewolf, Mr. Weasley attacked by a snake, Fred would be gone, George would be miserable…

How could she let that happen? This family was perfect, exactly what a family should be, she couldn't just sit back and watch them go through so much pain. She set her fork down and leaned back in her chair, her appetite lost.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Bill said quietly from beside her. She looked up at him for a moment and he blinked as her eyes changed back to their usual green. She almost smiled, thinking about how odd it was that he was the same age she had been before she came here.

"I'm just missing home a bit," she said, turning back to her food. Bill nodded, then smiled at her, shaking off the sudden chill that ran down his spine.

"Don't worry, we all miss home when we start school, you will get used to it after a while," he said. She smiled and nodded, but she wasn't sure if he was right.

Then another sudden thought hit her, what if she woke up back at home and left this place? She supposed it would be good… but she knew she would get attached to the people here, and then she would miss them terribly if she left. She shook her head. Trying not to get attached would be impossible. She already felt like Ginny was a little sister to her, and she definitely felt the need to keep Fred from dying, and she couldn't even tell the twins apart yet. How much harder would it be when she became friends with everyone? Impossible.

"You look tired dear," Mrs. Weasley said from behind her. "I knew that trip into town was a bad idea. Why don't you go upstairs and have a nap?"

"I am a bit tired," Aria said, but it was a lie. She really just wanted to get away and think for a bit. "Thank you for lunch Mrs. Weasley. It was very good," she said, standing with her plate in her hand, intending to walk it to the kitchen.

"I'll take that dear, you run along and have your nap," the woman said, smiling down at Aria.

"Thank you," Aria said, then turned to walk up the stairs.

When she reached Ginny's room, Aria had the sudden sensation of being suffocated. She didn't want to pace around a tiny room to think, she wanted to be outside, but there was no way she could sneak out the front door without everyone downstairs noticing. She stood outside the door for a moment, her breathing getting heavier, then turned and fled up the stairs. She climbed up three more staircases before finally spotting the trap door to the attic, pulling the string to open the staircase, and clambering up them.

She ignored the moaning from the ghoul in the corner, not the least bit surprised he was there, then spotted what she was looking for, a large window in the gently slanted ceiling. She tugged the glass open, struggling against years of disuse and rust, then finally, once the gap was big enough, she slid through it and clambered to the peak of the roof, sitting with her back against the thin chimney.

She began to sob, not really knowing why she was crying, but she couldn't hold it in. Her throat tightened, making her panic more and take in short, quick breaths. She couldn't think about anything other than breathing, and her sobs got stronger, making her whole body shake slightly. As she coughed and gasped, she wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them in, setting her head between her knees. This carried on for nearly ten minutes, but finally, her breathing bean to return to normal, and her tears stopped falling. She left her head on her knees, taking deep slow breaths to calm herself down. It had been over a year since the last time she'd had a panic attack, and she really didn't like having one now, in a house surrounded by people who would worry about her and try to take care of her. She hated being taken care of, and she hated living with people, she was much better off on her own, and now it seemed like it would be years until she was alone again.

She lifted her head and leaned it back against the chimney, staring up at the blue sky with a few sparse clouds drifting through it. A flock of birds flew past her, settling in a nearby tree, and she could hear the rustle of the long field grass in the wind.

Aria let out a final sigh and closed her eyes, letting the wind caress her face and blow her hair around her neck. She wiped the remaining tears from her face, then took a few slow, deep breaths, trying to let the stress out as she had learned to do during the yoga class she took on Thursdays. She tried to empty her mind, letting all the questions that popped up just drift away with the wind that was pushing her hair into her face.

She wasn't sure how long she was up there when she heard clanging from below and opened her eyes. A red haired head poked out the window and looked around for a moment, finally stopping on her.

"What are you doing up here?" One of the twins asked, quirking a brow at her. "You're lucky mum doesn't know you disappeared, she'd have the whole house turned upside down."

"Oh, sorry. I was just feeling a bit claustrophobic inside," Aria said, scooting down toward the window and letting herself drop inside.

"Don't let her see you up there, she would have a fit," the twin said, grinning at her. Aria ave him a small smile back.

"Fred, is she up there" a voice called from the bottom of the ladder to the attic.

"Yep, found her," Fred called down. "Mum sent us up to ask if you wanted dinner or if you would rather sleep," he continued, climbing down the ladder first, than moving aside to let her down.

"I'm not really hungry," Aria said, frowning. She must have been up there longer than she realized if it was dinner time already. "I think I'll just sleep. Could you not mention to her about the roof thing please?"

"No problem," Fred said, draping an arm around her shoulder and steering her toward the stairs.

Once back in Ginny's room, Aria was overcome by a sudden exhaustion. She knew panic attacks always made her tired afterwords, and now she was glad she had said she would take a nap as she could hardly keep her eyes open. She had just enough energy to kick off her shoes and fall into bed before she was completely out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Diagon Alley

"Aria!"Ginny screamed, flinging the door open so hard that it smashed into the wall, leaving a small indent. Aria opened her eyes sleepily and watched the small girl wave around some papers while jumping excitedly on her own bed.

"What's up Ginny?" Aria asked closing her eyes again, still snuggled comfortable under her blankets. Judging by the sun it was only around six in the morning, and Aria was not used to waking up so early. She was, however, used to Ginny's early morning energy after the last three and a half weeks.

"You've got post!" Ginny said, making the wide leap from her bed against the wall, to Aria's bed against the other wall, and just barely making it. She landed on the far side of Aria's legs and promptly fell on top of the other girl, startling her into a sitting position. Aria took one look at Ginny's surprised face from where she had landed against the wall, and burst into laughter.

In the last nearly four weeks, Aria had spent most of her time with Ginny and they had become quite close, Aria treating her like a sister and friend, rather than a little girl like everyone else in the house saw her. Yes, Ginny was easily excited and sometimes acted childishly, but she reminded Aria of her own sister, and how close they used to be when they were younger. Being around Ginny made Aria feel younger, and lighter, and happier than she had in many years. Around Ginny, she didn't feel the constant pressure to be self conscious, or watch what she said, or act her own age, she felt free, and that wasn't something she was going to give up. So she spent nearly all of her time with Ginny, which sometimes, unfortunately, included morning times.

"Here," Ginny said, straightening and crossing her legs to sit across from Aria on the bed. She held out a large cream colored envelope, addressed in sparkling green ink. Aria reached out slowly to grab it, her hand shaking slightly. Her own Hogwarts letter? It was something she had dreamed about since she had fist heard the stories of Harry Potter, and now it was actually happening. She stared at her name written in elegant script on the front, then flipped it over to take in the Hogwarts crest, stamped into the sealing wax holding it shut.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide with excitement. "It's from Hogwarts you know, It's going to have all the book lists and welcome letters!"

Aria popped a finger under the wax seal, breaking it in half to get to the letters inside, which she unfolded and read through quickly. One was indeed a welcome letter, and the two pages behind it were lists of things she would need to buy for school. Behind those was a ticket to the Hogwarts Express. Aria handed Ginny the welcome letter to read, then folded up the lists and ticket, setting them on her bedside table under her Kindle.

"This is so exciting! I can't wait until next year when I'm old enough to go too," Ginny said, hopping down from Aria's eyes flashed blue and she frowned for a moment, watching Ginny walk across the room to her dresser. Next year Ginny would be taken into the Chamber of Secrets, but Aria couldn't stop that, it was important for Harry to discover that Basilisk fangs could kill Horcrux's, and that the sword of Gryffindor existed… but the thought of Ginny going through that alone made Aria extremely sad.

"Come on, get dressed, I think Mom will let us all go to Diagon Alley today to get your things before it gets crowded," Ginny said.

Aria grabbed a pair of jeans and a t shirt, wishing she had nice clothes that actually fit her to wear to Diagon Alley. She wasn't used to wearing casual clothes in public, not since high school anyway. She almost always wore slacks or at least black pants when she went out. Aria couldn't quite remember where the habit had begun, but it definitely felt uncomfortable to know people would meet her and have a first impression of her in jeans.

"Aria?" a knock came from the door, and she looked up. Sometime during her thinking, Ginny had left the room, and now Mrs. Weasley was standing in the doorway. "We are going to leave for Diagon Alley after breakfast to get everyones school things, would you like to come with?"

"Yes please," Aria said, then looked down at the bag containing her old clothes with an idea. "Um, Mrs. Weasley, could I ask a favor?"

"Sure dear, what is it?" The older woman said, walking farther into the room.

"Well, I ended up with some of my mothers clothes, and since I don't have very many clothes with me, I was wondering if you could shrink them so they will fit me?" Aria asked, making her eyes wide and childlike.

"Sure dear, I can do that, where are they?" Mrs. Weasley asked, smiling down at the girl.

Aria quickly pulled out all of the clothes in her duffle bag and layed them out on the bed, then stood back from them. Mrs. Weasley waved her wand over them, muttering a word Aria didn't hear, and then suddenly, all her clothes glowed for a moment, then shrank.

"There you go, if they are still too big let me know and I can try again," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling.

"Thank you Mrs. Weasley," Aria said, giving the woman a wide smile.

"No problem dear, now why don't you run along and take a shower before the boys get up," she said, then bustled from the room.

Aria picked up her clothes, shoving most of them back into the bag, then carried her comfortable black slacks to the bathroom, along with a camisole, which would now fit her correctly. After she was showered and dressed, she went back to Ginny's room to find a nice shirt, and settled on a white button up blouse. Noting from the relative silence of the house that the boys were probably still abed, She went back into the bathroom across the landing and shut the door, then turned to stare into her reflected eyes. Over the last four weeks she had spent quite a bit of time in front of the mirror, trying to make her eyes change color as the others said they did, but she had yet to succeed.

Her own hazel eyes stared at her in frustration as a headache began to bloom in her mind. She had decided that her eye color change couldn't have anything to do with her emotions as Dumbledore had guessed before. She was frequently upset when her eyes didn't change, but no particular emotion seemed to make a difference. She sighed, leaning on the counter, face still leveled at the mirror. Maybe she was a metamorphmagus, like Tonks, though she had never changed anything besides her eyes. She frowned at the thought, thinking that it would be very useful for her to be a metamorphmagus. She could appear to be older and get her own place and a job over the summer… but no, she couldn't be one. The books had said it started with hair change anyway, at least in the 7th one.

She gasped, finally taking notice of the face in the mirror. Her eyes changed from a startling blue, nearly white color, back to normal as she stared. No wonder the twins had said the color was unsettling, it was almost as though she could see through things, with the almost white eyes. They'd had a slightly carney outer rim, but she was still startled by the lightness of them.

What had prompted that change? She frowned in thought, trying to pick out what had been different at that moment. The air in the room was the same, her emotions hadn't been anything new, just curios. She had been thinking about the future she knew…

Her eyes flashed again as she pictured the books in her minds eye. She gasped in surprise, watching them shift back to green, then to blue again as she remembered the things that were to come this year. It was as though she was a fortune teller in a movie, seeing a vision of the future.

She heard the pounding of feet on the stairs above her and drew back from the mirror. So her eyes changed when she thought of the future? Or was it only the future that she had read about? She continued puzzling over the theory as she followed the others down to breakfast.

She was careful throughout the meal, making sure that none of the usual mess caused by the boys ended up on her clothes, and then finally, they were standing around the fireplace, getting ready to Floo. Aria was a bit nervous, since she had never done this before and it honestly seemed like such a ridiculous thing.

"Alright, Aria, you're next. Just throw down the powder like the others did and speak clearly," Mrs. Weasley said when her and Ginny were the only ones left in the room. Aria took a handful of powder and hesitantly walked toward the flames that seemed very real to her. When she had thrown the powder in and said 'Diagon Alley' loudly, she stepped forward and immediately began to spin in tight circles. She could barely see what was happening, but as she spun she caught glimpses of random living rooms and shops, then finally she stumbled out into the nearly empty room of Flourish and Blotts. At least, that's where she assumed they were, judging by the rows of books. She stepped aside as Ginny came out behind her, then Mrs. Weasley.

"All right, Bill, keep an eye on the twins please, they know what they need and I've already given them the coins for it," Mrs. Weasley said, giving the twins a look. "Behave you two," she said, then turned back to Ron, Aria, and Ginny. "You three will stay with me. We may as well start here and get your books."

Aria had a lot of fun trying to figure out what the various magical contraptions in the store windows were for, and finally, after the group had met up for a small lunch, they headed toward Ollivander's, which was what Aria was most excited for. She had been getting increasingly nervous as the day wore on, wondering when they would be going here.

"Alright dear, do you have enough money for your wand?" Mrs. Weasley asked as they stood outside the door. "Ron, you will be using Charlie's old wand for now, so we don't need to go in." Aria could hear Ron huffing disappointedly as she counted through the coins she had gotten at Gringott's in exchange for whatever American cash she had on her, and the coins that Dumbledore had given her.

"I think I have enough," Aria said, looking up. "I might even have a little bit extra afterwords. I'm lucky I had that American cash on me when I came here I guess," she said, then looked up. "Are you all going to wait out here?"

"Yes, we don't want to crowd the place dear," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling down at Aria.

"Mum! I want to go in, please can I?" Ginny whined, pulling on her mothers arm.

"No, we are waiting out here, it doesn't take that long," Mrs. Weasley said, frowning at her daughter.

"I'll be right back then," Aria said, then turned to walk into the building while the Weasley's walked across the street to look in one of the shop windows.

"Hello?" Aria called through the empty room. There were shelves all the way up to the ceiling, all filled with long thin boxes that she knew contained wands.

"Ah, hello," she heard an airy voice from behind the counter. Mr. Ollivander stood from where he had been hunched over doing something. He wore a frown on his wrinkled face and Aria tilted her head to the side.

"I don't know who you are," he said, walking forward. "Curious… are you foreign?"

"Yes, I just came here this year," Aria said, smiling politely. "My name is Aria Gray."

"Well Ms. Gray, it isn't often I get someone in here that I don't know," he said, smiling now. "I'm not sure I knew your parents either, they didn't shop here?"

"No sir," she replied, as he began to measure her height and the length of her arms. He wandered to the shelves while his tape measure continued measuring, and she smiled, thinking of the familiar scene.

"Try this one first," he said, offering her a long box. He snapped his fingers and the measuring tape returned to his pocket. Aria picked up the wand, but he snatched it from her moments later and returned to the shelves. They repeated this process two more times, but on the third, Aria felt as though a wind had blown through her, warming her from head to toe. She grinned up at Ollivander, who was smiling back.

"That's the one, 9 and 1/2 inches, Willow and Unicorn hair, and the handle is Cedar, very nice, very sturdy, good for Charms, very good for healing spells," the old man said, nearly talking to himself as his wide eyes took in every inch of the wand.

"Mr. Ollivander," Aria began, dropping her wand to her side. "May I ask you a question? I've always been curious…"

"Yes?" The man said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, what makes the wand choose which person it wants to be with? How does it know?" Aria asked, lifting her wand to analyze it closely.

"Well, my dear, who really knows how magic works," the man said, a twinkle in his eye. "If I did know something of that manner, it would, of course, be a trade secret," he said, a sly smile on his face.

"Of course," Aria said, nodding, with a small smile of her own. "May I ask another?"

"Of course you may," he said, nodding again.

"Could you explain to me the qualities of the materials of my wand? I want to understand why it chose me," she said, looking down at it again.

"Not many youngsters are interested in that, they are more excited to be able to blow things up," he said with a wry smile. "First, understand that just because a wand has a certain quality doesn't mean you will succeed at that subject. Now, lets start with the core, Unicorn hair is often best for Charms and Transfiguration, meaning that when you study those subjects, you will find your wand more willing to respond than, say, a wand with Phoenix Feather, which is more likely to fight you at times. Unicorn hair usually chooses those who are mainly calm and slow to anger. Now, your wand is made of Willow, which is also good for Charms. Willow trees are known for their flexibility, meaning that this wand is more likely to do your will then, say, Yew, which much more hard willed. The handle of your wand is made of Cedar, which is an interesting combination with Willow. Cedar is strongest when used for protective spells, and many of those who yield a Cedar wand become quite good at Occlumency as well. Many people say that the handle conveys what is inside while the wand conveys what is outside, but I find that to almost always be a myth. Your wand is longer than average, likely this is because you have a strong personality, or possible you will do something of great merit in the future, and it is sturdy, meaning you will have to work hard to master it, but when you do, it will act strongly for you," Mr. Ollivander said, his voice soft as he turned the wand over in his grip, looking at it from various angles. "Overall, I would have to say that this wand will be very good for Healing magics, and Charms," he said, handing it back to her.

Aria frowned in consideration, thinking about his descriptions. She had once had an interest in become a doctor, but University was far too expensive, so she had traded that dream for art and writing classes at a community college. Then she remembered the time in the last book when Ron splinched himself apparating, and Hermione said she was useless at healing and she should have studded more. Maybe, just maybe, if she could manage to become friends with the group, and she could learn Healing spells and charms, maybe she could be useful to them after all?

"Peculiar eyes…" Ollivander muttered to himself. "I can see that I have given you quite a bit to think about," he said a bit louder than his previous muttering, which drew her from her speculation. "Perhaps you should be on your way now, unless you have other questions?"

"No I don't. Thank you Mr. Ollivander," Aria said, tucking her new wand into her pocket and pulling out her coin bag to give him the required 10 Galleons and 4 Sickles. She turned to leave the shop just as someone else entered, nearly running into them.

"Oh, sorry," she said, catching her balance and turning to face the person. She let out a tiny gasp, recognizing the boy.

"It's alright," he said, straightening his shirt and running a hand over his hair. She took him in, her eyes glancing over his hair and scar quickly, then his glasses, and his eyes, which he was just turning toward her.

"I'm Aria," she said, holding a hand out to him. "I'm starting at Hogwarts this year too," she said, then frowned as he took a half step back from her.

"How did you know I'm starting at Hogwarts?" He asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Why else would you be here?" She asked, waving a hand at the walls around them. Harry smiled and shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry," he said, then held out his hand. "I'm Harry Potter," he said, then watched her for a reaction.

"Well, it was very nice to meet you Harry. I'll see you on the train I suppose," she said, turning toward the door. She couldn't resist looking back at him one more time and grinning. "Oh, and happy birthday," she said, eyes flashing blue, then disappeared before he could say anything. She had forgotten that their letters came at the end of July, which meant that Harry would be here too today. Then she frowned and looked around her. If Harry was here, that meant Malfoy would be too. She had always liked him in the books, even though he was a prat. He was a well rounded character, and he had grown up in the end. And she had always had a soft spot for blonds.

"Aria!" She heard someone call from behind her. She turned to see Ginny running toward her, and grinned. "Did you get it? You were in there so long we went to find Bill and the twins. Mum took them and Ron home, and Bill is here with us," she pointed back to where Aria could see the tall red head coming toward them. "Can I see?"

"Sure," Aria said, pulling the wand from her pocket and handing it over. Ginny looked it over as Bill came up behind her.

"Looks nice," he said, glancing over Ginny's shoulder.

"Thanks," Aria said, grinning. "Uh, would it be possible to stop at the pet place before we go home? I have some extra coin, and I want to look at the cats."

"Sure," Bill said, shrugging. "I'm not in a hurry, Mum's going crazy with cleaning this week, and I leave in a few days and she will be all upset that I'm not packed yet." Aria and Ginny laughed, then followed him to the Magical Menagerie shop down the street.

"I'm going to wait out here you two," Bill said, settling onto the bench in front of the shop and stretching his long legs out in front of him.

"Okay," Ginny said, then pulled Aria into the shop, excited to see the animals. The two girls wandered through the shelves full of tanks holding snakes and frogs and lizards, to the back shelves, which held large cages full of cats and large exotic birds.

"Mother, I don't want any of these ugly creatures, I want an owl," a whiny voice said from the next isle over, coming closer to them. Aria glanced at Ginny who raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and turned to a cage full of little kittens.

"Oh, get one of these Aria, they are adorable," Ginny said, poking a finger through the bars to rub one of the tiny kittens on its little head.

"No way, I want an adult cat, then I don't have to train it to go to the bathroom outside, it will already know. Kittens need too much attention," Aria said, running her fingers over the bars of a nearby cage. It's occupant hissed and swiped a paw at her so she pulled away and wandered farther down the isle. She came to a stop at the end of the row in front of two large cages. One held the large ginger cat that Hermione would adopt in later years. Aria grinned and lifted a hand towards the cat who had pushed his ugly face against the bars.

"Hello Crookshanks," Aria said as the cat sniffed her fingers. "A nice witch will come and adopt you in a few years, so I will see you then," she said to the cat, then grinned and looked down at the cat in the lower cage. He was mostly a light gray color, with large dark splotches across his back, colored black with dark grey and almost red looking stripes within them.

"Hello," she said, kneeling down. The cat sat at the back of his cage, watching her. "You are an interesting cat, I've never seen one with your colors before," she said, then glanced around and opened the cage door. "Do you mind if I pet you?" The cat watched her with wide pale green eyes, then took a step forward. Aria took that as assent and reached in toward him to rub his ears. The cat let his eyes shut as she stroked his head, and he began to purr lightly.

"Well done," a voice behind her said and Aria jumped slightly. "He doesn't take to many people. I think you are a good fit for him, if you like him." One of the workers had come up behind her silently.

"I do like him," Aria said, reaching back in to pick up the cat and hold him close to her. He was about the size of an average house cat, but he looked young. "What is his name?"

"We call him Jupiter, but you can call him something else if you want," the girl said, shrugging. "He's a bengal cat. He's not done growing yet, he will probably be about twice the size of a normal cat."

"That's alright. And Jupiter is a good name for him," Aria grinned. She was named after a constellation, he was named after a planet. They went well together. "How much is he?"

"3 Galleons and a Sickle, and that'll get you a bag of food too," the attendant said, smiling. Aria held the cat with one arm and fished through her bag with the other, pulling out the money as Jupiter turned in her arms and climbed onto her shoulder, touching there to counterbalance from her movements. She grinned at his actions and handed the coins over to the witch. This left her with one Galleon and a handful of Sickles for the rest of the year. She wasn't worried, she would find some way this year to make money or get it somewhere else. The woman took the coins and disappeared for a moment, coming back with a small bag of cat food for Aria. Aria thanked her, then went to find Ginny, who was still occupied with the baby kittens. Jupiter curled over the back of her neck as she walked, head and front paws over one shoulder, and back paws and tail over the other, like a warm fur scarf.

"Ginny, I'm ready to go," Aria said, and Ginny looked up and grinned.

"Oh, she's pretty," Ginny said, lifting a hand to pet Jupiter's ears.

"It's a he," Aria grinned. "His name is Jupiter," she continued as they walked to the front of the store again. As they turned the corner, the two girls came face to face with Draco Malfoy, making Aria gasp again as they all came to a halt. Jupiter had dug his claws into her shirt at the jerking movement, but though she could feel the points of the claws, they were not accompanied by the prick of pain that cat claws usually drew. They stared at each other for a moment, then Draco smirked at her.

"Well?" He began, raising one eyebrow. "Aren't you going to apologize?"

"What?" Ginny asked quietly, but Aria spoke over her.

"There's nothing to apologize for," she said, smiling in an over polite way. Draco frowned at her and ran a had over his hair, smoothing it down.

"How about the fact that you two idiots nearly ran me over," Draco sneered.

"Well we didn't, so apologizing would be a waste of time wouldn't it?" Aria asked, giving him an innocent smile. He frowned at her and narrowed his eyes.

"You'd better watch what you say," he said, leaning toward them. "Or I'll-"

"Or you will what?" Aria said, smiling nicely as her eyes turned blue. "You will run to daddy and tell him two girls were being a little bit mean to you?"

"Look," he said menacingly. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'm-"

"Draco Malfoy. Pureblood son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. The one who thinks he is better than everyone else because he has wizarding parents. Well, just so you know, your blood is exactly the same as mine, or hers, or anyone else's, and it doesn't make you better than any of us, so cut out your stupid act," Aria said, repressing a grin. Her eyes faded back to green as she watched his face. She had already decided during one of her long nights sitting up reading, that she shouldn't try to befriend Malfoy. Harry needed Malfoy to be an enemy to him for a while, to get used to the way people would treat him, and learn that not everyone thought he was the best person alive. She didn't want him to become to self proud later on. Now she had just guaranteed that Draco would dislike her, and probably anyone else she befriended.

"Who the hell are you," Draco asked, frowning at her. She frowned too, she had expected him to get even angrier, but he seemed more confused than anything.

"My name is Aria Gray," she said, holding a hand out to him. To her surprise he shook it. "We need to go," she said when he let go of her hand. He moved aside for them, and Aria led Ginny to the door, frowning in confusion. That had not gone the way she had expected.

"Do you now him?" Ginny asked as they neared the door.

"No," Aria said distractedly. She kept a grip on the cat food in her arms, then glanced to her shoulder to see if Jupiter was still alright. He was watching the things around him with interest but showed no signs of wanting to chase anything.

"Well, how did you know his name then?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, um," Aria said, racking her brain for a good excuse. "I read over a book of Wizarding Geneology, and it had pictures. I recognized him from it. You're in it too you know," Aria said, trying to distract her.

"Really? That is so cool!" Ginny said, pushing the door open for both of them. "I can't believe I'm in a book! You will have to show me it when we get home," Ginny said, and Aria smiled at her and nodded, sure that she would be able to distract the girl again before they got home.

Luckily as the three of them returned home through the fireplace in Flourish and Blotts, Mrs. Weasley had just put dinner on the table, which gave Aria plenty of things to distract Ginny with.

"Oh, you got a cat?" Mrs. Weasley asked, spotting the creature as he jumped down from Aria's grip as they came out of the fireplace. It seemed that he did not like Floo travel. "He's a pretty one, those makings are unusual," the woman said. "Come to the table, dinner is ready."

Throughout the meal, Aria slipped pieces of food into her lap where her new friend rested calmly, and afterwords, she helped carry the empty plates back to the kitchen in silence, then fled upstairs to change for bed. By the time Ginny came in nearly half an hour later, Aria was pretending sleep, huddled under her blankets with Jupiter curled up beside her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Well, that's all sorted

"Why are you reading those?" Ginny asked, walking into the room the afternoon before the train would leave. Aria had packed all her new school things into her Muggle duffle bag, with the exception of her robes and a few school books, and her Kindle, all of which would go into a backpack she had scavenged from the boxes of muggle things Mr. Weasley would secretly bring home and hide in the garage. After she had shown him what it was used for, he had gladly let her take it.

"They are interesting," Aria said, flipping a page in her Transfiguration textbook. She had just finished writing a letter to Dumbledore in response to his theories about her eyes after she had told hm her idea weeks ago. She had used the Weasley's owl, Errol, to send it. She had no other plans for the day, which had resulted in her pulling out her school books again.

"But you have to have read them all the way through twice by now," Ginny pouted. She stood with a hand on her hip, a tiny version of Mrs. Weasley. Aria nearly laughed.

"What would you rater I be doing?" Aria asked, looking up from her book with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno, lets go flying, or play hide and seek, or do something! After today I'll be the only one here and mum will make me help her with all the cleaning," Ginny said with a sigh, and flopped down onto her bed.

"Alright, we can play hide and seek, and you can go hide," Aria said, looking back down at her book with a smirk.

"But you won't come find me," Ginny said with a frown. Aria had pulled this on her before, and Ginny had wound up hiding for nearly two hours before she got bored and came out. They were both silent for a moment as Aria finished reading the chapter she was on. "I know!" Ginny said, sitting up. "Why don't you try some of the magic you've learned so far."

"Oh, I dunno," Aira said, sitting up straight. "I'm not supposed to do magic remember, I'm underage."

"I know, but it doesn't matter if you are in a house full of Wizards. Fred and George said the Trace can only tell when magic is done near you, not who's magic it is, so they will just think it's mum."

"Well," Aria said, dragging out the word. "I guess I can try something. What do you want to see?"

"Hmmm. Can you change something into a mouse! Then I can put it in mum's room and scare her," Ginny said, laughing at the thought.

"I don't think I can do that. We start with matches into needles in class," Aria said, thinking. She had memorized the needed spells, half remembering them from the books, and half from reading about them the last month. "I know the spell though…" she said, trailing off in thought. "Okay, I'll try it. What should I change?"

"Oh here, change this cup," Ginny said, grabbing an empty tea cup from her bedside table. Aria flipped to the chapter about transfiguring things into animals and reread a few paragraphs, just to make sure.

"Okay," she sad, pulling her wand out of the stack of clothes at the end of her bed. "Here goes," she said, then took a deep breath and focused on the cup. She said the spell clearly, following the wand movements depicted in the morning pictures in the book, ending with two sharp taps on the cup. She watched with excitement as the cup handle shifted into a pointed nose and sprouted whiskers. Two bulges on the cup rim began to bloom into round ears, and a tail sprouted from the opposite end of the cup, falling across Aria's bedspread. The cup itself became more rounded, but it didn't fully change into a mouse, and the china print was still over it's nose and tail. Ginny giggled, but Aria frowned. She had done everything right, the words were correct, with the emphasis on the right syllables, and the wand movement had been correct, so why hadn't it worked. She frowned while Ginny picked up the mouse, who was unable to scurry away since he didn't have feet.

"Let me try again," Aria said, reading over the spell in the book again. Ginny set the mouse cup back down and stepped away as Aria repeated the incantation and wand movements. This time, there was a small pop, and the cup had fully turned into a tiny white mouse, with a pink floral parent across its back.

"Aw, he's so cute!" Ginny said, picking up the little creature and letting him run over her fingers. Aria grinned at her near success. If she had done it right, he would have pink flowers on him, but it was close enough for her.

"Let me try to change him back," she said, lifting her wand again.

They spent the rest of the day laughing over the spells Aria attempted, and the ones she failed at first. By the time dinner rolled around, Aria was excited to start school and learn the real ways to do the spells she had messed up on.

Dumbledore appeared at the house after dinner, and Aria and Ginny looked at each other in nervousness. Maybe the Ministry had been able to tell it was Aria doing the magic earlier.

"No thank you," Dumbledore said as Mrs. Weasley invited him to join the end of the meal. "I just came by to speak to Ms. Gray about her letter earlier." He turned to her and she frowned. She hadn't thought the letter warranted a trip out here, it was hardly even interesting, just restating her theory that her eyes changed when she thought of the future. "I've done a bit of reading into the causes behind the change in your eyes," he said, turning to Aria. She glanced at the others, wondering why Dumbledore was saying this in front of them.

"Yes, Professor?" She asked, prompting him to continue. If he was saying it in front of the Weasley's, he either wanted them to know, or this was a performance for their sake.

"I believe that you are a seer," Dumbledore said, smiling slightly. "It usually runs in blood, and from what you told me earlier this summer, I believe your grandmother was also one." Aria kept herself from frowning at him. She hadn't said any such thing, which meant that this was just what he wanted the Weasley's to think.

"Is that so, Professor?" She said, keeping her voice polite even though the family was now staring between the two of them.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, smiling wider now. "I believe that the scenes you have described to me are simply visions of the future. I must ask you though, to please keep such things to yourself as they may not come to be true."

"Of course, Professor," she said, nodding. His ordering that in front of the others would curb their questions but they would be more apt to listen to her if she needed to tell them to do something in the future. Though she could see his plan, she didn't really like it. She wanted them to trust her on their own, not because Dumbledore had said she had a special ability. And this would probably spread all over school now. She shrugged it off though as Dumbledore turned to conversation with the older Weasley's. Aria muttered something about bed to get away from the curious looks from the younger Weasley's and disappeared up the stairs.

The next morning was extremely hectic. While Aria had packed a few days before when Mrs. Weasley had instructed them to, Fred and George, and Ron, were running around grabbing last minute items. Aria had already put her duffle bag and backpack into the car Mr. Weasley had taken home and secretly enchanted, and was now sitting at the table eating breakfast calmly with Ginny, Percy, and Mr. Weasley while the others ran about the house and Mrs. Weasley shouted at them.

Finally, around 9:30, the lot of them were squeezed into the car and on their way to the station.

"Alright you lot," Mr. Weasley said as they piled out of the car at Kings Cross Station. "I'll go get us some trollies, you all wait here and behave, and try to blend in," he said, then disappeared between the other parked cars. It was nearly 10:30 now, and Mrs. Weasley was rushing about, worrying that they would miss the train. Aria knew that Harry was being dropped off right about now, and soon he would be panicking about how to get on the right platform.

Mr. Weasley returned nearly ten minutes later with the trollies and helped them all pile their trunks and things onto them, then he led them into the station. As they entered the building, Mr. Weasley spotted someone he obviously knew from work, and rushed off to talk to him about something. Mrs. Weasley led them towards platforms 9 and 10, weaving through the crowded station with Ginny's hand grasped in hers. Up ahead, Aria spotted Harry talking to a very annoyed looking platform attendant, and she glanced over at Mrs. Weasley, who would have to mention muggles soon, or Harry wouldn't hear her and he would have no idea where to go. Aria shook her head slightly, fully coming to realize just how important every tiny detail was becoming. As they got nearer to Harry, Aria became more and more nervous. Mrs. Weasley was talking quietly to Ginny as they walked, and Aria was worried she would walk right past Harry. Aria made the split second decision to push her duffle bag off the trolly, which caused the rest of the group to pause for a moment.

"Sorry," Aria said, making sure Mrs. Weasley could hear her. "Someone bumped into my cart."

"It's alright dear, just hurry up now," Mrs. Weasley said, glancing down at her watch. "It's packed with muggles of course, it's the same every year," she said with a sigh as they continued walking. Aria glanced to the side and saw that Harry was looking at the group with interest, and she let out a sigh of relief.

They came to a halt in front of the barrier, and Mrs. Weasley began sending them in by pairs. Aria made sure to go through first with Percy, so that Harry wouldn't see her and recognize her from their time in Diagon Alley.

Aria boarded the train immediately, looking for an empty compartment, towing her duffle bag behind her with her backpack slung over her shoulders. Her free arm was wrapped around a basket that held Jupiter, whom she had taken to calling Mr. Cat when she spoke to him.

Aria got her things into the luggage rack, then went back to the platform to say goodbye to the others. She saw Harry board the train, helped along by the twins, then was distracted as Ginny hugged her tightly.

"I'm going to miss you!" Ginny said into Aria's hair. Aria laughed and hugged her back.

"I'll miss you too. But it's okay, I'll see you at Christmas… if that's okay with your mother," Aria said, suddenly realizing that she wouldn't really have anywhere to go when school let out. It would be okay over Christmas, because she knew the family would be visiting Charlie in Romania and she could stay at the castle, but what about for the summer?

"It'll be fine," Ginny said, pulling back. "Mum loves you, she's always going on about how nice it is to have more girls in the house."

Aria laughed, and was then pulled into a tight hug by Mrs. Weasley.

"It's been so nice having you dear," Mrs. Weasley said, giving her another squeeze. "You have to come back for Christmas, and for the summer holidays," she said with a smile. Aria caught Ginny's eye as she pulled away and Ginny gave her a knowing grin that Aria returned.

"Alright, best get on the train now," Mrs. Weasley sad, giving Aria a little push. "Wait a second, Ronald, you've got dirt on your nose," she said, pulling him to her and wiping at his nose.

"Mum, you'll never guess who we just met," one of the twins said, jumping from the train. Aria glanced toward the train and caught Harry's eye. He watched her for a moment, a confused look on his face, then he sunk down in his seat so she couldn't see him.

"No you can't Ginny, the poor boy, I was wondering why he was alone," Mrs. Weasley's voice cut into Aria's thoughts. The train whistle blew loudly and there was a flurry of motion as students who had been on the platform rushed to the train.

"Bye!" Aria called, waving to Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, and to Mr. Weasley, who had finally appeared on the platform.

Ron followed her back to the compartment, and she was not surprised to see Harry already there.

"Is it alright if we sit here? Everywhere else is full," Ron said, looking around the compartment.

"Uh, sure," Harry said, waving a hand at the seat across from them where Aria had left the basket containing Jupiter. As the door slid closed, Aria lifted the lid, but he was asleep and stayed put.

"I'm Ron," Ron said as he sat next to Harry. "Ron Weasley."

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry replied, watching them closely. Ron's eyes lifted to Harry's scar for a moment, then he turned to face Aria.

"I'm Aria Gray," she said, smiling at him.

"I met you in Diagon Alley," he said, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Yep," Aria said, grinning at him. They all sat in silence for a few moments, then Ron started talking about quidditch, which then led to an explanation for Harry. Aria got her backpack from the luggage racks, and set it on the bench beside her, taking out her Kindle to read. She had made sure to sneak down to the village one last time before they left to charge her Kindle for the long train ride. She was sure the thing wouldn't work at Hogwarts, so she was determined to finish reading the first book for the fifth time that summer. She had memorized as much as she could from the book, but she was still nervous that her being there would change something little which could cause them to lose the war or something drastic. Jupiter climbed onto her lap as she began to worry over the details and curled up on her crossed legs, calming her with his quiet purr. She pet him twice, then began to read.

She read uninterrupted throughout the journey, with the exception of Hermione and Neville coming in to look for Trevor the toad. Aria made sure to smile at Hermione, feeling sorry for what would happen to the girl within the next couple months.

As the sun was beginning to set, the battery on Aria's kindle died, and she was forced to pay attention to the conversation, which was now revolving around the piles of candy they had bought from the trolly and the trading cards that came with chocolate frogs.

"So what about you? Where are you from?" Harry asked, looking over at her with a calculating expression. He had just finished detailing his aunt and uncles house for Ron, who had described the Burrow before that.

"I've been staying with Ron and his family," she said, shrugging. Jupiter was still curled up on her lap, purring softly, and it made Aria much less anxious about the upcoming year.

"Yeah I know, but what about before that?" Harry asked, and Ron was now paying attention too.

"I'm from Wisconsin, in the states," she said, smiling.

"You told my parents you were from Alaska," Ron said accusingly.

"No, I said my parents live in Alaska, and that I was born there, but I lived in Wisconsin," she said to Ron, who frowned. "My parents moved back to Alaska last year. I didn't go with them," she said, her tone clearly stating the end of the conversation. "I expect we're nearly there, we had best change into our robes," she added, grabbing her backpack and standing slowly, letting Jupiter jump onto the bench beside her where he sat, gazing at them.

She left the compartment to find a bathroom to change in, and by the time she returned, the boys were already dressed.

"I hate wearing skirts," she said, walking back into the compartment. The boys looked up at her from their seats, their eyes wide. "This school uniform is shit," she continued, plopping down. "I mean, it's not like you can see the stupid thing anyway, under the robes, so why does it matter?"

They looked at her blankly, clearly surprised by her sudden swearing.

"Never mind," she said, rolling her eyes at them. They might have replied, but at that moment, the train began to slow, and they turned to look out the dark windows for a glimpse of the castle.

When they left the train, leaving behind all the luggage and pets, Aria became separated from the two boys, and found herself standing right behind Draco Malfoy when the group came to a stop in front of Hagrid who had been calling them.

"Alright Harry?" She heard him call over the group of chattering first years. "No more 'n four t' a boat," Hagrid called, waving toward the tiny fleet of boats.

Since she was towards the back of the group, Aria ended up sharing a boat with Lavander Brown and the Patil twins. None of them talked as the boats began to move, preferring to stare up at the brightly lit castle in awe.

As they exited the boats, Aria caught back up with Ron and Harry, who took no notice of her as they followed Hagrid through the castle.

"Here they are, Professor," Hagrid said, coming to a stop near the doors as Professor McGonagall pulled them open.

"Very well Hagrid, I'll take them from here," she said, then turned and led them into the entry hall. She turned to the group as they looked around the large hall. "Please wait here, quietly, I will return for you when we are ready," she said, then disappeared through a doorway.

"Is it true what they're saying on the train then?" Draco's voice drawled out from behind them. Aria, Ron, and Harry turned to face him, as did most of the other first years. "Harry Potter had come to Hogwarts?" He continued, and muttering broke out among the group. Draco approached them, his two larger friends trailing behind him.

"I'm Malfoy," he said. "Draco Malfoy." Ron let out a snigger, and Aria tried hard to suppress the smile.

"Think my name's funny do you?" Draco asked, turning his attention to Ron. "Hand me down robes, red hair, no need to ask who you are. My father told me the Weasley's have more children than they can afford," he said, and Aria instinctively grabbed Ron's arm, just as he jerked forward a bit, but Draco had already turned back to Harry.

"You'll find that some wizarding families are… better than others. You don't wan tot go making friends with the wrong sort," he said, holding out a hand. "I can help you there."

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," Harry said, and Draco let his hand fall with a sneer on his face.

At that moment, many students shrieked or let out gasps as dozens of ghosts poured through the walls.

Aria ignored the conversation between the ghosts and students, choosing instead to sidle over towards where Draco was whispering to his friends.

She was just within earshot when professor McGonagall returned and beaconed to the group. They followed her into the Great Hall in silenced awe, staring up at the ceiling, which Aria had to admit, was quite beautiful. The Great Hall looked exactly as she had pictured it, but she didn't have time to analyze everything as Professor McGonagall had already brought out the hat and instructed the first years. The hat sang its song loudly, and Aria suddenly realized, with a jolt, that the hat was able to see into her mind, and it would see the future, and probably tell Dumbledore about it. There was nothing she could do though, except watch anxiously as the first few people were sorted. Finally, Hermione Granger was sorted into Gryffindor, and Aria's name was called.

She walked up to the front of the group and sat on the stool and slowly lifted the hat to her head, then closed her eyes.

'Hm, what's this?' A voice said inside her mind. "You have an intense knowledge of future events, and… you aren't from this world, so why are you here?"

'I don't know,' Aria thought, and she heard the hat chuckle.

'Well lets see here,' he continued, speaking into her mind. 'Plenty of intelligence in here, and you are very loyal, but only to a select few. You are not brash, but certainly brave, but over all of that, you have a goal, and you know what you need to accomplish it. You manipulate everyone around you to make things convenient… and stealing and lying are necessary steps in your path. Very ambitious… Yes, I know just where to put you, better be "SLY-"

'Wait please sir,' Aria thought desperately, and she was sure that her face betrayed some of her panic though she did her best to keep it clear. Muttering had broken out at the hats beginning yell and silence.

'Ah, I see, yes, you must be near those three, to watch over them, hmm,'

'May I please be in Gryffindor? They will never trust me if you put me in Slytherin,' Aria begged in her mind.

'Yes yes, I see that, and you are sure of the outcome of all of this?' The hat said in her mind. 'You are sure that you haven't already changed things? You have given young Harry reason to wonder about you, and the young Malfoy boy wonders too,' as he spoke, images came to her mind, memories of the past few months.

'I need Harry to trust me, and he has to know that I am right about things, otherwise I won't be able to instruct him later without too many questions. I'm starting small, but eventually he needs to realize that I know some of the future, and that he needs to listen to me. And Malfoy… I was trying to make him an enemy, but he behaved in a way I didn't expect, though things seem to be back on track now,' she thought of the anger from him earlier.

'And with this ability to manipulate others, you are sure Slytherin would not be the best choice? You would fit in well there.'

'No, sir, I must be near Harry Potter, and he will undoubtedly ask to be put in Gryffindor as well,' Aria thought, peeking an eye open to glance around the crowded hall. Students were whispering to each other, and she realized that she had been on stage for nearly five minutes now.

'I understand, and if you can guarantee the outcome you have in your mind then there is no other choice. You must be in "GRYFFINDOR" the hat shouted the last word.

'Thank you,' Aria thought as she took the hat off and headed to the table that was clapping for her. She sat down beside the twins and watched the rest of the sorting. The only person who took longer than she did was Harry Potter, though Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger were both close.

Aria found herself worrying over the upcoming school year so much that she wasn't hungry during the feast. The only thing she noticed after her sorting was Draco's sorting. In the books, the hat knew immediately that he should be placed in Slytherin, but in this world, the hat took nearly a minute to decide. No one else found this odd, but Aria frowned, trying to think of what had changed.

As she followed the Gryffindor Prefects up the stairs and through the portrait hole, Aria listened to the conversation around them. No one seemed to think it odd that the hat had changed it's mind halfway through announcing what house she should be in, they were all more interested in their classes the next day and finding their dorms.

Aria shared a room with four other girls, Lavander Brown, Hermione Granger, Fay Dunbar, and Parvati Patil, all of whom found it odd that she had a duffle bag at the end of her bed, rather than a trunk. She shrugged them off when they asked about it, and changed into her pajamas behind the hangings of her bed, then climbed in and curled up under the blankets, leaving a spot for Jupiter next to her pillow.

As she listened to the other girls get ready for bed, Aria sighed, thinking of home and wondering if she would ever go back to it. She fell asleep long after the other girls had fallen silent, and moonlight fell softly across the room. She caught herself almost wishing she still had a stuffed animal or something familiar, to help her feel more comfortable here, and nearly laughed. She was twenty three. She was used to moving and new places. She would be fine here in a few days, maybe she would even have fun.

She drifted off with that hopeful thought in her mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Time Flies

The first day of lessons passed quickly, then the first week. Aria usually sat beside Hermione in their classes, though the two girls didn't talk much, both of them were exhausted with trying to get used to their classes. Aria's favorite class by far was Transfiguration. Her least favorite was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell was a joke, which she remembered from the books, but she was hoping he would be able to teach them something. Instead, his lectures were so disjointed she couldn't follow them at all. At least the homework he assigned gave her the correct topics to read about.

It was the second Wednesday of term, and Aria had been running late that morning. Usually she woke when the other girls got up, being a light sleeper herself, but this morning she had slept through the others leaving, only waking when Jupiter jumped onto her head by accident. As she rushed through the common room, she noticed that the first year boys were gathered around the bulletin board, and after a few seconds, Aria realized that flying lessons would begin soon. She rushed past the group, wanting to make it down to breakfast before classes started.

"Isn't flying dangerous though?" She heard Hermione asking the other girls as she sat and grabbed a piece of toast. Lavender and Parvati both looked at her like she was an idiot.

"Of course not, they wouldn't teach it if it was," Lavender said, rolling her eyes. She turned to Parvati and started a conversation about some magazine, clearly telling Hermione she didn't want to talk to her. Aria rolled her eyes at the childish actions and scooted closer to Hermione.

"I've been flying before, at the place I stayed over the summer," she said, capturing Hermione's attention. "It's scary at first, but after you get used to it, it's pretty easy. And I think whoever is teaching us will know spells to catch us if we fall off."

"Oh," Hermione said, picking at her scrambled eggs on her plate. Aria could tell she was nervous about flying, and tried to think of a way to help her.

"Here," Aria said, fishing through her bag and taking out the book on quidditch she had been studying yesterday. "In chapter two or three, they talk about learning to fly, maybe you would like to read it?"

"Thank you," Hermione said fervently, taking the book and immediately flipping it open. Aria smiled and reached for another piece of toast, but the food disappeared at that moment. She sighed, picking up her bag and getting ready to leave. Hermione stood beside her, nose in her book, and they walked together to the first class of the day, double potions.

Aria took a seat at her normal potions table, which was with Parvati and Lavender, right in front of the table that DeanThomas, Harry, and Ron sat at, that eventually Hermione would also sit at once they all became friends. Currently, Hermione was at her table with Neville and Fay Dunbar, in front of Aria.

Aria let out a sigh as she sat beside Lavender. Her and Parvati had become fast friends and were constantly talking about clothes and magazines. Aria didn't dislike them, she just thought they were a little annoying, but sitting with them was better than sitting with the Slytherin's they shared the class with, or with Seamus Finnegan in the back. Aria remembered that he had a tendency to blow up his potions, and she definitely didn't want to sit with him. The Slytherin's wouldn't have been that bad to sit with, most of them were civil enough unless you gave them reason to dislike you, but she needed to become Harry's friend, and that wouldn't happen if he thought she was friends with the Slytherin's. She rested her head against her hand and closed her eyes, willing the approaching headache to go away. This would be their third potions class of the year, and while Aria knew that Professor Snape was truly a somewhat good person, she didn't like the way he taught. She suspected that she could actually like potions, it was similar to cooking, which she had always enjoyed, but Snape was rude to all the Gryffindor's, not just Harry, and he made even the tiniest mistakes into something drastic.

The dungeon door slammed shut with a heavy clank, and the class fell silent as Professor Snape glided up the middle isle, his cloak billowing out behind him dramatically. Aria resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the theatrics, and lifted her head from her hands.

"Today we will be brewing a real potion, even though some of you," he glanced at the Gryffindor side of the room, "are too stupid to even understand the basic theory." He whipped his wand from his pocket and tapped it sharply against the board at the front of the room. Instructions began to write themselves out in precise letters, and Aria copied them down on her parchment as Professor Snape continued speaking.

"Today you will be brewing a cure for boils. It is the simplest potion we will cover in this class. If you are unable to do this…" he trailed off as he sneered down at Harry. "You will be unable to brew any other potions. You may as well leave school."

Aria began to pull her ingredients from her bag, as many of the other students did, but paused as Snape began to talk again.

"I will be assigning you partners for this lesson," he began, then whipped around as the class let out a collective groan.

His eyes fell on Aria first, even though she had merely sighed, nothing like Ron who had let out a swear behind her.

"Ms. Grey, do you have a problem with the way I teach?" He asked, swooping toward her table. Lavender and Parvati both leaned away from her, hoping to distance themselves from the angry teacher.

Aria briefly considered talking back to him, she knew enough about him and the future to do so. Snape frowned as her eyes flashed blue for a moment, but she shook her head. She would need him on her good side later.

"No sir," Aria said, keeping her head up. His eyes narrowed, then he whirled around again.

"Ms. Gray, your partner will be Mr. Malfoy," he said, and Aria glanced over at Draco and her shoulders slumped for a moment, but then she brightened. She had another opportunity to make Draco hate her, and through her, Harry and the others. He hadn't been mocking them as he should have been, but maybe if she messed up so badly now, he would start. Then she had a better idea. What if she could do better then he did? If she could do better than he did in class, maybe he would become resentful.

She let out a small grin as she repacked her bag. Snape went down the rows of students, pairing each Gryffindor up with a Slytherin. Draco made no move to come toward her, so she got up and went to him. On the other side of the table, Harry and Goyle were setting up a cauldron, neither of them talking. Draco had already set his things up and taken out his ingredients, so Aria hurried to catch up. No one at their table spoke while they worked, unless it was to argue over an instruction or scoff at each other. Aria purposeful worked as fast as she could, beating Draco at dumping ingredients into the cauldron, and he was becoming more and more irritated. By the end of the double lesson, she had managed to correct him twice, and he packed his things away and stormed from the room, not giving her a second glance. She let out a grin.

"It's like you are trying to make him hate you," she heard Harry say softly from across the table. Goyle had left as soon as he could, leaving Harry to clean up the mess.

"Not hate me," Aria said with a smile, helping him scoop up unused porcupine quills and put them into their proper container. "He's just a lot of fun to annoy," she replied. Harry let out a small smile as they finished cleaning off the table.

"Thanks," Harry said, walking beside her out the door. The only people left in the room were Ron and Crabbe who were still brewing their potion, frantically stirring to try to get it the right color. Ron glanced up as they passed, catching Aria's eye. Ron gave her a glare. They hadn't spoken since the train ride, and Aria had no idea what she could have done to upset him since then. She shrugged as they left the room, heading to lunch. Ginny had become a good friend to Aria over the summer, but she had rarely spoken to Ron, having little in common with him. He would come around eventually, she figured.

They walked in silence to the Great Hall where they split ways, Harry going to sit next to Dean and Seamus, and Aria sitting near Lavender. Hermione was no where to be found, and Aria assumed she was in the library, probably researching books on flying.

Flying lessons began the next morning, at the time their Defense Against the Dark Arts class was usually held, and Aria couldn't help but be relieved to be missing that class today. She was definitely not in the mood to be the polite passive person she usually was during the useless class. As she trekked across the grounds towards the Quidditch Pitch where their flying lessons would be held, Aria was so lost in thought that it took her a moment to notice that she was following the blond head of Draco Malfoy. Most of the other first years were already gathered on the pitch, she could see them standing in small huddles, probably chattering excitedly. She was running later than she had thought, and so, apparently, was Draco Malfoy. She let out a sigh, not in the mood to try to keep up her appearances today. She was tired of trying to keep this world on the right track. Even if she somehow managed to get everything to turn out the way it should, no one would ever know it was her who had ensured the victory of the upcoming war. Besides, it wasn't her fault she had been brought here, at least, she didn't think it was, so why should it be her responsibility to keep up appearances? Why couldn't she just enjoy herself like all the others were? Besides, this world didn't really exist. What would it matter if she let things change? It would only result in a different ending to the most popular book in her universe. Just a few changed words, a few printed letters in the wrong order. Not wrong, just different. Why shouldn't she do as she wanted and talk to the people here? She didn't have to befriend Harry and the others, they had done just fine without her. She should be able to talk to whoever she wanted, right?

She was brought out of her thoughts again as she realized that Draco had slowed his steps to walk beside her. She lifted her head and glanced over at him, but he didn't pay any attention to her. Perhaps he was lost in thought too?

"Hello," he said, calmly. She watched him for a moment.

"Hello," she repeated, just as calmly, as though they had conversations like this every day. Why was he talking to her? She thought she had been doing so well in making him dislike her. He had even glared at her at breakfast that morning. "Why are you speaking to me?"

"I'm trying to figure you out," he said, finally glancing over for a split second before returning his eyes to the pitch they were headed towards.

"Figure me out?" She asked, surprised into being civil. She knew that in the books he had been very intelligent, especially in the later years at school. Maybe he had been that smart the whole time, and she hadn't noticed because he was just an antagonist. Not the one the reader was supposed to focus on. He was just there to round out the story. But he was important. More important than anyone else in the series. It was him, and his mothers love for him, that saved everyone in the end.

"Yes," he said softly, drawing her attention back to the conversation. "You knew me before we met, not like how everyone else knows me, you knew my thoughts. And then you intentionally tried to make me hate you, which I might have done, if you hadn't been so obvious about it. Now I'm just curious," he said, looking away from her, towards the open blue sky. Aria didn't speak for a moment. She hadn't realized he was that observant. In the books, well, she hadn't spent much time thinking about him outside of when he interacted with the story line. She didn't really know anything about him, now that she thought about it. She was silent for a moment, long enough to make him glance back over at her. "And that's not all I'm curious about," he said suddenly. They were almost at the pitch by then, and they had begun to walk very slowly now, both knowing that whatever strange truce they had at the moment would be gone as soon as the parted ways.

"What else?" She asked, a small smile on her face. He looked surprised for a moment, then quickly covered it up with the mask he always wore. She hadn't realized it, but in his earlier years, the mask wasn't as commonly worn. It wasn't until he became older that it became more imperative for him to hide his thoughts and emotions. She supposed he had expected her to deny anything he said and call him an idiot, then go off and tell her friends about how weird he was. She gathered this from the way he hesitated over his next words.

"You don't fit in here," he began, the words coming in a rush. They had stopped just on the other side of the quidditch stands from the class. They could both hear the excited chattering from their classmates, only a few paces away from them, hidden by the thick material that covered the open space under the stands. "Not just like the rest of the first years don't fit in yet, or even like an American doesn't fit in with the English. You don't fit in with us, any of us. It's like you aren't your age," he said quietly. They were both still looking away from each other, out towards the sound of their classmates voices, but Aria could see his face drawn in confusion out of the corner of her eye. "I've been to America before, so I know it's not just a cultural difference," he continued when she didn't say anything. "I don't know what it is," he said even quieter, as though hating to admit that he didn't know something. "And why would you want me, specifically, to hate you? Is it because I'm in Slytherin? That can't be it, I've seen you talking to other Slytherins, even though most others in your house despise us because we are better than they are."

"How old are you?" She asked after a moment.

"Eleven," he answered, his voice not the harsh sneer she had grown used to in the last few weeks.

"You don't think like an eleven year old. You are much more intelligent than I gave you credit for, and much more observant too," she said, smiling softly. She hitched her bag back onto her shoulder and began to walk towards the class.

"You don't think like an eleven year old either," she heard him mutter behind her, and then she was back in the sunlight of the open pitch, making her way over to Hermione and Neville, both of whom looked nervous about the lesson. Hermione was muttering nonstop under her breath, and as Aria approached, she saw Neville nodding along with whatever Hermione was saying, which sounded like the entire script of the books she had read about flying.

"There you are," Hermione said as Aria came to a stop beside her. "I thought you weren't coming. You are nearly late," she said, reminding Aria strongly of Professor McGonagall. Aria smiled and glanced over Hermione's shoulder, noticing the movement of Draco entering the pitch at last, and walking silently over to his two large friends. He glanced her way for a split second, and she returned her attention to Hermione.

"Sorry, I forgot my book for Transfiguration and I wanted to grab it now so I don't have to rush after class," Aria said, glancing down at her bag. She had taken her Transfiguration book with her to breakfast for that exact reason. She knew that the flying lesson would end early, but she still didn't want to have to rush up to the dorms between flying lessons and Transfiguration.

"Oh I see," Hermione said, then turned back to Neville and began talking about flying again. Aria longed to give some advice to the boy, but he had to be nervous, he had to mess up and break his wrist, otherwise Harry would never become part of the quidditch team.

Finally, Madame Hooch started the lesson, making the students line up alongside the schools brooms. Harry's was the first broom to jump into his hand, followed by Draco's broom. The former peered around him smugly, the civil attitude he had shared with Aria before plainly gone now. She smiled to herself, them spoke the word up when she thought enough other people had successfully gotten their brooms to behave that it would go unnoticed when hers worked. Sure enough, the broom jumped into her outstretched hand, just as Ron's broom jumped up to smack him in the face. She let out a stifled giggle, then shut her mouth as he glared over at her. She turned her attention to Hermione who was on the other side of her, still unable to make her broom do more than roll over.

"Be confident, Hermione," Aria whispered to her, making sure that Ron couldn't hear her. She still wasn't sure what she had done to make the boy dislike her so much, but she honestly wasn't too worried about it. Hermione glanced over at her, then back down at her broom. She straightened her shoulders, held her chin high, and steadied her hand, then spoke the word up in a calm voice. The broom jumped up immediately, and Hermione grinned over at Aria in gratitude. Aria smiled back. Hermione really was an extraordinary person, and Aria knew she was intelligent, more so than anyone else at the school, except maybe Malfoy. Though in the books, Malfoy had hated her because Hermione beat him in ever subject. But Aria was fairly sure that the two of them were equally smart, though she would never say so to either of them.

"Alright you lot, mount your brooms. On the count of three, push off from the ground, hard, hover for a few moments, then come back down," Madame Hooch said, blowing her whistle to gather the classes attention. They all moved to obey her, and all of them, except for Aria got ready to fly. Aria knew that no one besides Neville would be flying at the moment, so she didn't bother following directions, instead holding her broom in front of her, a step back from her fellow students so they wouldn't notice her.

She glanced over toward Malfoy as Madame Hooch called out "one!" he was watching her, a confused expression on his face. She grinned for a second, eyes flashing blue, and he looked away, towards the sky. "Two!" The teacher called out, and the class crouched over their brooms in unison. Then a gasp was let out as Neville began drifting into the air. Aria stayed towards the back of the group as the rest of the Gryffindors and Madame Hooch ran around underneath him, calling for him to come down.

Aria settled herself at the edge of the stands she and Draco had conversed behind earlier and watched the drama unfold with disinterest. This wasn't exactly an unimportant plot point, but it was going how it should so far, so she wasn't worried about paying attention. Instead, she pulled a muggle notebook from her bag and began flipping through the pages. In the notebook, she had made notes from the first book, things that were important, in chronological order. She had left space between each note, and was writing in the things that went differently in red ink with a muggle pen. She wrote in the highlights of the conversation she'd had with Malfoy earlier, wondering if his suspicion would change anything important. She didn't see how it could change much right now, but it might in the future, if he began thinking differently then the miniature version of his father he should have been until the sixth book. Already he was different, but maybe if she distanced herself from him he would get back on the right path. But making him wonder about her… that was too much fun to pass up. Maybe… if he guessed too much, if she could get him on her side, maybe she could explain everything to him. Maybe they could be friends. Maybe she could get him to act the antagonist, but not be the antagonist. Could that happen? What would it mean for the storyline? No, she couldn't tell him anything, at least not yet. She had to trust him first, and that would be a long time coming, if it happened at all. But part of her was sure it would, if they continued on this path.

She glanced up just as Neville hit the ground, letting out a cry, and tucked her notebook away, but stayed sitting where she was. Madame Hooch was telling the class to behave as she led Neville towards the castle, and then suddenly, the two of them were gone, and Draco was standing where Neville had fallen, Harry and Ron nearby. Aria stayed back as the confrontation began. She did notice Draco glance at her over the two boys heads for a split second, but he looked away so quickly she wasn't sure if he had meant to do it. She hadn't noticed him watching her before, but he must have been, to notice all the things he had mentioned before. Maybe him glancing at her was just a habit of his by now.

As she thought, she half payed attention to Harry and Draco, who were now hovering in the air out of hearing distance, though she knew what they would be saying. The next ten minutes passed quickly, and soon, Professor McGonagall was leading Harry away, and Draco and his friends were laughing with the other Slitherins, and then everyone was heading into the castle for their next class. She knew that at some point, Draco had challenged Harry to a 'Wizard's Duel' that he wouldn't show up to, though she had missed the conversation. Or did that come later? She couldn't remember exactly. She should have been paying more attention. The duel had to be brought up, otherwise Harry wouldn't know about the trapdoor.

She frowned as she followed Hermione through the doors of their Transfiguration class. Professor McGonagall was there, but Harry was not, and he didn't show up until lunch time. He was grinning, and Aria knew why, so she sat far enough away from them that Harry was able to talk to Ron without anyone overhearing, though Hermione did walk by at the end of their conversation, inviting herself to give an opinion. Aria watched closely now, making sure that everything was going as it should. Sure enough, later that evening in the common room, she overheard Ron and Harry talking about the duel. She wasn't sure if she should attempt to join them, or if she should stay in her dorm. Finally, it was decided for her as Hermione came down the stairs from the dorms and sat beside her, pretending to read a book as she sent nervous glances across the room at the two boys, then at the staircase as they pretended to go to bed.

It was almost midnight when the two girls were drawn from their reading. The room had darkened considerably, but neither of them had lit a candle to read by, since neither of them were really reading. Hermione hadn't said anything about the duel, but she had grown more and more impatient as the night wore on. Aria had leaned back in her seat, her head resting against the back of the couch, and stared up at the ceiling, Jupiter sitting in her lap, and her hand running over his back every few seconds.

Finally, they heard whispers and scuffles from the boys stairway, and glanced at each other. Jupiter jumped from her lap and meowed loudly at the two boys who had begin sneaking across the room to the door.

"I can't believe you are going through with this," Hermione hissed, making the boys jump again as they recovered from the scare of the cat catching them. They both glared at her as she followed them across the room. Aria followed, her hands tucked into her pockets, trying not to laugh at what was coming next. Hermione had followed them out into the hall, Aria making sure the portrait was closed behind them.

"Well I'm not going with you," Hermione was saying. "And if you get caught, its your own fault." She trailed off as she took in the empty portrait of the fat lady. Aria had caught up with the boys by this point. Ron glared at her, but Harry smiled. The four of them continued down the hallway, Hermione arguing quietly with them, until they ran into Neville. The three of them fell silent at the movement ahead, but Aria continued walking, pulling ahead of them. Harry hissed at her to hide, but she just smiled over her shoulder at them.

"It's only Neville," she whispered back, and the four of them approached the sniffling lump on the floor cautiously.

"Neville?" Hermione asked, making the boy sit up. "What are you doing out here?"

"The password changed, and I couldn't get in, I've been out here for ages," Neville said, his teeth chattering. Aria began to walk farther down the hall toward the stairway down to the trophy room. Her hands were tucked into her pockets as she walked, and she couldn't help but think that she really did like the castle at night. It wasn't creepy, like she thought it would be, but rather, comforting. It almost felt… alive. Perhaps that was the magic though. She pulled a hand from her pocket and ran it over the wall near her as she walked slowly, waiting for the others to catch up. Was it so strange to think that the castle could be alive? It moved on its own, though maybe the staircases were just enchanted to move… but what if the castle itself had an existence? Not so much a consciousness, but maybe a… sense of knowing? After all, there were rooms that only opened if you knew how to get into them, a password, a different language, a need.

"Hello," Aria whispered quietly to the walls, then felt completely stupid for a moment. The stone under her hand warmed slightly, and she pulled her hand back in surprise, then rested both palms flat against the wall and closed her eyes. The stone was warm, not in a strange way, but rather it gave off the feeling of comfort, like a fire on a chilly night. Maybe she was only noticing what she was thinking about already, hadn't she just been thinking that the castle at night was comforting? Maybe if she thought of the castle as menacing in the dark it would become so. She smiled, her eyes still closed. Maybe if she asked nicely, the castle would do as she needed? She had been a little cold a moment ago, is that why the stone had heated? As she thought, the wall in front of her opened into a small dark stairway. She opened her eyes, looking down into it, then glanced at the others. They had finished their argument and now all four of them were approaching her. She glanced back at the stairway, but it had gone, changing back into a solid wall. She turned to face the others as they drew near, then fell behind them as they walked, Hermione still whispering arguments at them. The five of them approached the trophy room a few minutes before midnight, and Aria immediately took up a position near the door they were supposed to run through. She opened the door widely, unnoticed by the others who were holding their wands out and peering around them for Draco. It was only a few moments later that they heard Filch talking to his cat and they looked around panicked.

"This way," Aria hissed, gesturing to the door she had opened. They ran through it and she pulled it softly closed behind them, just as Filch's lantern light fell into the room. They stayed still, Neville's frightened breathing the loudest thing in the room. Then he gasped, taking a step away from the door, and knocked over a suit of armor, causing an echoing bang. Then they were running, all five of them, as fast as they could down hallway after hallway. Aria followed behind the group, knowing that they would end up where they were supposed to be.

"It's locked!" She heard Ron exclaim from in front of them as they came to the end of the hallway.

"Oh move aside," Hermione said, pushing him out of the way as she drew her wand. "Alohamora!" She said, and the door opened with a faint click. They piled through it, then shut it as quietly as possible, leaning against it to listen for Filch.

"I think we lost him," Ron said after a moment, still panting from the run through the halls.

"What, Neville," she heard Harry say, then saw him turn to look behind them where Neville was pointing. She turned as well, then let out a gasp. The dog was much larger than she had imagined it to be, and it was growling low in its throat, all three of its heads watching them with bared teeth. Aria was the first one to recover, as she had been somewhat expecting it. She pulled the door open, knowing that Filch would be long gone by now, and the five of them fell out of the door, Hermione locking it behind them just as the loud barks began to echo off the walls. They ran again, not stopping until they returned to the portrait. Hermione gasped out the password, ignoring the fat lades questions, and they all stumbled into the common room. It had to be after one in the morning by now, but Aria was wide awake with excitement, and she nearly laughed, only refraining from doing so because of the look on Hermione's face. She started in on the boys, who ignored her as usual, and Aria glanced over at Neville, who was shaking badly.

"Are you alright Neville?" She asked, looking him over. She knew he wasn't hurt, but shock was a serious thing for some people.

"I- I'm- fine," he said, shaking his head back and forth. He disappeared up the staircase to the boys dormitory a moment later and Aria shrugged. He would be fine in the morning. Hermione had finished chastising the boys and had stormed off up the staircase.

"She need to sort out her priorities," Ron muttered, and Aria laughed with Harry. Ron smiled sheepishly, then turned toward the staircase.

"Goodnight," Aria called over her shoulder as she walked toward her own dorms.

"Night," both of the boys mumbled. Aria was still smiling to herself as she climbed into bed moments later. She had never really been one for doing dangerous things before coming here, but the adrenaline rush she had gotten from the evening made her much more excited for the remainder of the year.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Castle

The next morning was a Saturday, so most of Gryffindor house was sleeping in a little later than usual. Hermione usually got up early to work on homework, but after their adventures the previous night, Aria couldn't blame the girl for still being in bed when she had finished showering and dressing for the day. Aria shut the dorm door quietly, not wanting to wake the other four girls, and crept down to the common room, hoping it was empty. It was. She glanced out the window in surprise, seeing that the sun was just coming over the horizon. She must have woken up earlier than she had thought. She crossed the empty room in silence, not sure where she was going since breakfast wouldn't start for another hour or so. She dragged a hand along the wall as she walked, a habit she had developed over her first few days here after running into multiple things while walking while thinking. The stones grew warm under her hand, the castles way of greeting her, she assumed. She smiled.

"Hello," she whispered, coming to a stop with her palm flat against the wall as it had been last night. She closed her eyes for a second, emptying her mind, and opened them to see the stairwell opening in the wall again, though she was a couple hallways over from where it had appeared last night. She looked down the dark stairs, then to both sides to make sure no one was around her. The hallway was empty and silent, the first few rays of sun just coming in through the window, highlighting the flecks of dust floating in the air.

She took one step onto the first dark stair, and the wall slid closed behind her. The room wasn't dark anymore, but Aria couldn't tell where exactly the light was coming from. She couldn't see a ceiling, or walls for that matter, but she knew the stairwell must have them. It was well lit now, but she couldn't make out anything more than a few feet from her. She continued walking down the stairs, not sure where they led to. After several minutes of walking, she came to a stop, though the stairs continues downward. She must have been under the school by now. She turned to look back up the stairs, but only found a wall, made of the same gray bricks as the wall she had walked through ages ago. A whisper echoed from down the stairs and Aria whipped around to face it, only to see that there were no longer stairs, but rather, she was standing in the middle of a wide, low ceilinged room, lit from a source she couldn't make out. The stones were the same as the wide gray ones behind her, but as she turned, the wall was now several feet away from her.

"Where am I?" She asked, feeling stupid talking to nothing. Another whisper ghosted past her ears, and her hair lifted from her neck for a moment, caught in a nonexistent breeze. She turned around again, but the room was still empty, and there seemed to be no break in the walls to allow for stairs or a way out.

Aria closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, letting herself calm down. She was sure that if she just asked for an exit, one would appear, but that didn't mean she was completely comfortable in an enclosed room. She opened her eyes and nearly screamed, not expecting the person in front of her to be so close, then she frowned.

"Renee?" She asked, looking at a much younger version of her sister than she remembered, sitting in front of her. The word didn't come from her mouth as she expected, instead, her body moved of it's own accord. "I'll miss seeing you all the time," she said, and was struck by a sudden feeling of Deja Vu. She looked around her, though her head didn't move. They were sitting on the old couch in her parents living room. Well, the one they'd had before they had moved back to Alaska. It was the night before her sister planned to get married, though her parents didn't know about it yet. Renee was never one for dramatics, and her new soon-to-be husband wasn't either, so they would just go to the courthouse. Neither of the girls lived with their parents at this point, but they had both gone over for dinner that evening, and Renee had told Aria about her plans.

"I won't be far away, we are planning on staying around here for a few more years," Renee said, smiling. They might have planned to stay, but they hadn't. Aria's parents had moved back to Alaska two months later, and then a few weeks after that, Renee's husband had joined the military and gotten stationed in Texas, leaving Aria as the only one in her family left in the area. Her body smiled, but Aria herself felt like crying, which she hardly ever did. Both of the girls turned to look at something then, but Aria couldn't hear anymore of the memory. She found herself standing in the middle of the brick room again, this time noticing the faint traces of fog and shadows swirling around the edges of her vision. She lifted a hand to her eyes, feeling the warm tears spill over. As her hand moved on its own now to wipe away the tears, another image formed around her. She had been crying, her eyes furiously wiping the tears away. She was outside now, at the park near her house that she frequently spent time at after dark. It was the pest place in town to see the stars. The trees around the perimeter blocked out the city light, and the sky seemed brighter than ever. She remembered the place, but the moments spent there all blended together. She usually wasn't crying when she was there, but it wasn't uncommon. She liked to be outside when she felt a panic attack coming on, being at home made her feel too claustrophobic. This was the night almost four years ago when her and her only serious boyfriend ever had broken up. She still wasn't sure what had happened, but all of a sudden, she had no idea what to do with herself, and she was alone. It was cold out, and the wind whipped snow into the air, freezing the tears on her cheeks. Aria closed her eyes, trying to clear her head, though she could still see the park and the stars, since her memory self had her eyes opened. This was the last time she had gone to that park, and she didn't want to remember it.

"Enough!" She tried to scream, though it came only as a thought. The word echoed off the walls, and she was free to move on her own now. She wiped at her face angrily.

"Did you bring me down here just to make me upset?" She asked, though she knew that the castle wouldn't do that. Another picture formed, one she recognized, but it seemed different somehow. It was one of the hallways in the school, filled with chattering people. The sky was bright through the windows, too bright almost. The ground was covered with snow, she realized, which would explain the bright light. She had never seen Hogwarts during the winter, so this couldn't be one of her memories. What was this place then, a hallucination room?

"Come on James," she head a male voice call from the other side of the hall. She turned to look at the boy, as several others also did. She glanced down at her hands, but she couldn't see herself. Was this a memory? She remembered from the books that you couldn't participate in a memory, but hadn't she just relived her own memories? Maybe if she focused during them she could be a spectator. Maybe it was just that she had been caught by surprise before.

"Calm down Sirius, we have all day," a boy called from right next to Aria. She turned, then gasped. Harry's father really did look exactly like him, she had thought it had been exaggerated in the books, but no, here he was, and this couldn't be anyone else. So then Sirius was the dark haired boy waving at James. She followed James as he walked down the hall, wondering who's memory she was in, or had this even happened?

"Who's that girl you are always talking to?" Sirius asked in a lower voice when James was near him.

"Lily Evans," James said with a grin. "I met her on the train. She hates me," he said, his face excited. Sirius laughed. "I'm serious, she hates my guts," James continues, grinning.

"No, I'm Sirius," Sirius replied, and Aria groaned at the bad joke. They must have been first years at this point, theres no way that joke could have lived past a year. James rolled his eyes and the two of them continued to walk down the hallway. Aria tried to follow them, but she was pulled to another area of the school, this time outside. It was warm out, but there were still traces of snow in piles around the grounds. Aria trailed a hand over the bricks as she walked, watching the sun cast long shadows over the grounds. A stifled sob drew her attention to a boy crouched against the wall, his arms wrapped around his knees, his face buried in his arms. He was being quiet, though no one else was around. The air grew colder as the sun set, and the boy shivered, and sniffed, lifting his head a few inches to peer into the setting sun. Aria took a step back in surprise. Here was her Potions Professor, as a teenager, maybe seventeen, probably about to leave Hogwarts, yet here he was, curled into a ball against the cold castle bricks, crying his eyes out. She tried to think back and piece together what had happened, but was saved the trouble as a crumpled piece of parchment fell from his hands and unrolled on the ground. It was a wedding invitation, for next August, for Lily. Aria understood in an instant, and her heart broke for Snape. No one deserved this kind of pain. She moved to rest a hand on his shoulder, though she knew he wouldn't feel it, but her hand came to rest on a wide desk. She looked around the Great Hall which was filled with desks and students bent over papers. She looked around for familiar faces but found none. She was drawn from that memory quickly, placed back into a hallway, this time nearly empty. It contained Hermione, clutching a book to her chest, and a few other students she didn't know. Then she was back in the Great Hall, during the sorting. She didn't recognize any of the names called from the list. Then she was in a courtyard, looking at the back of a girls long blonde hair, hanging neatly down her back. The sky was dark and Aria was sure curfew had passed, judging from the way the girl glanced around her nervously. She jumped at a noise behind her, but relaxed as she turned to face a blond boy, who looked very familiar.

"I missed you," he whispered to the girl, and she smiled up at him. Aria's eyes widened, recognizing the smile. These were Draco's parents. She had always despised Lucius in the books, partly for not loving his family, but this completely changed her perspective of him. He was smiling down at the girl, his eyes soft, his face light and full of love and hope. She smiled, then found herself back in the brick room.

"This is a memory room," she spoke quietly, though the words echoed off the walls anyway.

"Yes," a voice answered, and she opened her eyes. The room was still empty, though she could see the edges of fog swirling around the room.

"Were those your memories? The castles memories?" Aria asked, trying to suppress the feeling of awe in her voice.

"Yes," the whisper came again, from all around her.

"Can you speak outside of this room?" Aria asked, letting her eyes drift closed again.

"I speak in your thoughts, in your mind. Wherever your mind is present, I can also be, within reason."

"Reason?" She asked, her voice a whisper now. The castle itself was alive, with thoughts, perhaps feelings. This was something she had not expected, only briefly considered once.

"You must be near me, I cannot move, I am this place," the whisper said, and only now did she notice that the voice changed tone as it spoke. It was neither male nor female, it was indescribable.

"Do you have a name?" She asked, opening her eyes again.

"No," the voice said. "Hogwarts is the grounds I am built on, the castle is who I am, I do not need a name," the voice said, and Aria couldn't help but smile. She nodded.

"Is this the only place you can show your memories?" Aria asked, getting to her feet.

"My memories are in your mind, just as yours are, they can be remembered anywhere."

"Why did you bring me here then?" Aria asked, running a hand along the wall.

"This is where humans can share their memories. If I am to share my memories with you, then you should share yours with me, it is only fair." Aria nodded in understanding. For some reason she wasn't the slightest bit upset that the castle had taken her memories and turned them into its own. The castle itself had no reason to betray someone, though it also had no reason to be loyal to someone. But wait, no, it could be loyal, it was loyal to Dumbledore, she could feel that.

"Yes," the voice said, agreeing with her thoughts.

"Has Dumbledore been here before?" Aria asked softly, resting a hand against the wall.

"Yes, I brought him here when he spoke to me, just as I did with you," the voice said.

"Anyone else?" Aria asked curiously.

"The Malfoy boy talks to me sometimes, but he never takes the staircase when I offer it," the voice said emotionlessly. Aria nodded, surprised, though she was beginning to realize that there was more to Malfoy then she had thought.

"Can you do me a favor, please?" Aria asked calmly, turning her back to the wall.

"It depends on what you ask. My loyalties lay with Dumbledore more than with you."

"Of course," Aria said, smiling. "I'd never ask you to betray anyone. I was going to ask that you bring me here, if Malfoy ever takes the staircase. I want to talk to him…"

"You want to tell him about the future," the voice said, already knowing her mind. "You think that if he comes here, it is a sign that he can be trusted." Aria nodded, then hesitated.

"Not trusted exactly, but he's different from how I expected him. If he came here, somewhere he has no reason to go and will gain nothing from, then he is different than I thought, which means maybe he could be trusted with my knowledge as well," Aria said softly.

"I understand, though I will not share his memories with you unless he agrees."

"Of course," Aria said, surprised. "I don't want to see his memories, I just want to… I don't know exactly. I want to trust him I guess. He's not as bad as everyone else thinks he is."

"And is that your doing?" The voice asked. Aria sat against the wall, the bricks somehow more comfortable than any overstuffed chair or the softest mattress.

"Maybe," Aria whispered, the stress of overthinking every action she made creeping up on her again. "I don't know," she continued, closing her eyes. "How can I keep everything the same? I thought it was going well, but Draco has been civil, to me at least, will that change when the time comes for me to be friends with Harry? I know it should, Malfoy needs to be Harry's enemy, but… I don't want it to change. I always thought there was good in Malfoy, in everyone in fact, and having the chance to know for sure… but really, what I want isn't what's important is it? It's keeping to the story that matters."

"Is it?" The voice whispered.

"I think so… but… why was I brought here if the story is supposed to stay the same?" Aria asked, voicing the thoughts she'd had over the last few weeks. "What brought me here?" She asked, though she expected no answer. "Was it you? You must be powerful enough to pull someone through time, though I was nowhere near you, so it couldn't have been you. Voldemort maybe? But why? I don't think he is that powerful, what would he even need me for? There's no way it was him. Dumbledore… he would be powerful enough, and no doubt he's researched how to travel through time… but then, you wouldn't tell me if it was him, would you?" Aria trailed off, letting the room fall into silence.

"I might, but it wasn't him, at least, not while he was within my walls. He is… curious about you," the voice whispered. Aria's mouth twitched up at the corners.

"So am I," she said, then sighed. "It is nice to have someone to talk to," she said, then frowned. "You can't tell Dumbledore about the future, about what you saw in my head."

"I do not betray those I am loyal to, and especially not when it matters so much," the voice whispered.

"You are loyal to me?" Aria asked, frowning again.

"I am loyal to those who need me," the voice said, and Aria smiled at the empty room.

"Can you be loyal to more than one person?" Aria asked, though she was sure the castle could do anything it wanted to.

"Of course, I will never lie or betray, is that not what loyalty is?" It asked rhetorically. Aria didn't answer, just leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Does this place actually exist somewhere, or is it in my head too?" Aria asked after a few moments of silence.

"It exists, though it has no location. I created it. The only way to come here is if I bring you," the voice said, almost smugly. Aria smiled.

"And where does it let out if I wish to leave?" Aria asked, not opening her eyes.

"Anywhere you want," the voice answered.

"And I can come back anytime I wish to, just by asking you?" Aria asked, looking around her at the smoke which had started to curl around her fingers.

"Of course, though you do not need to come here to speak to me, only to share memories," the voice said.

"Yes," Aria said, getting to her feet at last. "But sometime I like to be alone, or well, away from others."

"Of course," the voice said, and a door appeared on the wall behind Aria. "One more thing," it said as she reached for the doorknob. "Dumbledore has asked me to assist you in keeping the future how it should be," it said.

"I figured," Aria said, smiling at the empty space. "And of course you are to report everything I do back to him?"

"He asked that, yes," the voice said, and Aria shook her head. "He understands that I am loyal to who I choose though, so if you ask me not to tell him, I will not."

"Thank you," Aria said, smiling. "I've spoken to you for maybe an hour, and already you are my best friend in this universe."

"Friends… that is an odd concept to apply to a castle, is it not?" The voice asked.

"It would be, if you were a normal castle, maybe," Aria said, then stepped through the door into the entry hall. She could hear talking coming from the Great Hall, so she assumed that some of the other students had woken while she was in the memory room. She pulled the door closed behind her, noticing it disappear as soon as it shut. She looked around at the others in the entryway. None of them had seemed to notice her sudden appearance from a seemingly solid wall. She shook her head, smiling, and headed into the Great Hall, much calmer than she had been for the last few weeks. When she entered the Great Hall, her eyes immediately went to the Slytherin table, and she silently grumbled at herself. Way to be obvious, if anyone was watching her. And there was someone watching her. Her eyes met his steely blue ones for only a fraction of a second before she glanced at the Gryffindor table, looking for Hermione, her usual meal partner. It was then that she noticed the food on the table, which was definitely not breakfast food. She plopped onto the bench next to Neville and Hermione, both of which glanced up from their food as she sat.

"Hello," she said, smiling as she grabbed a sandwich from a nearby tray of them.

"Where have you been all day?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows drawing together.

"I took a walk out on the grounds this morning and lost track of time. Did you know there is a really nice tree down by the lake and if you wait long enough, the Giant Squid will come up to the surface?" Aria said, smiling.

"Really?" Neville asked, his face half excited, half afraid.

"Mhm," Aria said through her bite of sandwich.

"Well, you should have stayed in this morning and studied. We have that Herbology test on Monday you know," Hermione said, lifting a forkful of peas to her mouth.

"Well if I start having troubles in Herbology I'll just cheat off Neville," Aria said, grinning when Hermione nearly choked on her peas, then again at the look on Neville's face. "Calm down, I'm just kidding, I promise not to cheat off you. Unless you don't mind," she added under her breath to Neville, which of course Hermione could hear as Neville was on the other side of her from Aria. He chuckled uncertainly and Aria patted Hermione's back gently.

"How did you know I like Herbology?" Neville asked when Hermione had stopped coughing and had settled for glaring. Evidently the Weasley children had yet to spread it around school that she was apparently a 'seer'.

"Its the only class you answer questions in," Aria said, shrugging as her eyes flashed blue again while she thought about the fourth book.

The weekend passed quickly, and Hermione practically forced Aria to study for the Herbology test. When Monday came around, Aria knew every answer to every question in detail. She had returned to the memory room every night since discovering it, not always to talk to the castle, sometimes just to sit and think without the presence of her classmates. Sometimes she talked to herself, the castle's consciousness just listening without adding to the conversation. It always knew when she wanted another opinion or when she wanted to think things through herself.

Soon enough, another month had passed by and it was the morning of Halloween. Aria had awoken that morning full of excitement for the day. Not only had Halloween been her favorite holiday before she came here, but today was the day she would become friends with Harry, and maybe Ron, though she wasn't concerned about the later, he would come around eventually. Probably.

"Are you going to the Halloween Feast tonight?" Hermione asked as the left lunch to walk together to double Potions.

"Of course, I'll probably be hungry by then," Aria said, shrugging. The excitement she had felt that morning had worn off throughout the day. First, at breakfast, Draco stared at her the entire meal, his eyebrows drawn together in obvious frustration or anger. Then in Charms they'd had a test that she had forgotten to study for, though how she could have missed that being friends with Hermione, she did not know. They'd had Defense right before class, and it was all Aria could do not to say something rude during class. And now they were heading to Potions, with the ever pleasant Snape. Aria sighed, trying not to let herself get aggravated. In the classroom, she took her normal seat next to Hermione at the second to the front desk. Neville sat on the other side of Hermione as was usual. Aria frowned for a moment, pausing in pulling out her notebook. Where would she sit when Hermione and her became friends with the boys? The tables only sat three. She shook the thought from her head and rubbed a hand across the back of her eyes, thankful yet again that it wasn't socially required of her to wear makeup, young as she appeared. She did wear concealer under her eyes sometimes, on nights when she couldn't sleep and spent the night in the memory room. She had been right in her earlier thinking; if she could draw herself out of the memory enough to realize it was a memory, then she could view the events as though she was a spectator, not the subject. Whenever she got homesick, which was often, she would go down to the memory room and sit in silence, letting her memories overtake her. She had spent a lot of time in parks, and at a lighthouse she liked that was only a twenty minute drive from her apartment. She would let the memories free, then lay back and enjoy them as she had at the time she had made them.

She looked up suddenly as Snape slapped a hand down onto her table. She realized class had started, and apparently, Snape had noticed she wasn't paying attention.

"Is something more interesting than this class, Ms. Gray? Perhaps something you would like to share with the class?" He said, his low voice menacing, but audible through the room.

"No sir," Aria said, leaning back in her chair. She was tired of his crap. He was supposed to be teaching them Potions, not terrorizing them. He had begun to turn away from her, assuming her 'no' was answering his first question. "I would not like to share," she added, making sure he knew she wasn't answering meekly because she was intimidated. She heard Hermione's quite gasp from beside her as Snape whirled around, his cloak swirling around his legs dramatically.

"What," he said, his eyes narrowing, "did you say?"

"I answered your question, sir?" Aria replied, sitting straight in her chair as she looked back at him in mock confusion, making the words into a question. His eyes narrowed further still, nearly becoming slits in his face. When he didn't speak for a moment, she continued, almost wishing she had kept quiet now, she was not in the mood to deal with this. "You asked me if I'd like to share with the class, sir. I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eye, Aria could see Hermione's hands gripping the table so hard they were turning white. Aria kept her eyes on the professor, widening them into a look of innocence as the man fumed in front of her.

"Clearly," he began, his word hissing through gritted teeth. "You do not find this subject important enough to pay attention during."

"Oh no, sir," Aria said, leaning forward over her unopened notebook dramatically, her face forming an obviously fake look of panic. "I find this class very important to my future," she said, rambling on purpose to annoy him more. Her eyes had turned into their unusually light blue color as she purposefully let her mind run through things that would happen later. He frowned at her. "I mean, you said in our first lesson that potions is the most important class we will have here," she said, and glanced down at Hermione's book as she leaned back in her chair, trying to figure out the subject. "I was paying attention, I was just thinking about the potion. I mean, I know forgetfulness potions must be useful, but wouldn't the ministry not want people using them? You could make anyone forget anything with it, that sounds dangerous. And isn't Valerian an ingredient also used in the Draught of the Living Death? I would think something that could be used to make someone appear dead would be dangerous, but then again, it's also used in Treacle fudge isn't it? So I guess it can't be that bad, but really…"

"Enough," Snape said, glaring down at her. "Shut up and sit down. If I find you not paying attention during this lesson, you will receive a detention, and fifty points from Gryffindor," he said, turning around to walk back to the front of the room. Hermione let out a breath beside her, and Aria grinned to herself. She was wrong, she had definitely been in the mood for that. An argument was exactly what she'd needed today. She made sure her face was smooth by the time Snape turned back to them to continue the lesson. Aria took perfect notes for the remaining two and a half hours and answered all the questions Snape asked the room, and she could see him growing more and more annoyed as the lesson continued, and by the time the class let out, she was back into a good mood.

"That was really stupid," Hermione said, walking with Aria as the left the room. "He already hates you because you are in Gryffindor, now he will hate you more."

"Nah," Aria said, flapping a hand. "Snape is fine, I like him."

"What?" Hermione asked, coming to a stop in surprise.

"I like Snape, I think he could be a good teacher if he stopped trying to make everyone afraid of him," Aria said, then glanced at her friend. "Besides, aren't you on his side, since he's a professor and all?" Aria asked, grinning.

"I'm not saying he's evil or anything, just that its stupid to make him angry," Hermione said, lifting her nose into the air and began walking again, clutching her books to her chest. Aria chuckled and hurried to catch up with her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Halloween

"Aria," a soft voice called from behind her, making Aria turn and stop walking. She glanced around her, seeing the empty hallway. She had been walking with Hermione to the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron and a few other Gryffindors were walking a few feet in front of them.

"Whats wrong Aria?" Hermione asked, glancing back in confusion.

"I left my wand in the dorms, I'll be right back," Aria said, turning around.

"You don't really need it do you? It's just dinner," Hermione called after her.

"I know, it just feels weird, not having it on me," Aria called back then disappeared around a corner. She waited a moment to make sure Hermione wasn't following, then turned to face the wall. A doorway and a dark staircase leading down opened in front of her, and she rushed down a few steps, then came to a stop in the center of the room she had come to know very well in the last month.

"Whats happened? You've never spoken to me outside of the room before," Aria said, glancing around the room. "And tonight is important. I have to be there when they fight the troll," she said, though she sank into her usual place in the center of the floor rather then trying to leave. She couldn't help but feel comfortable here, it was her escape from reality.

"Draco Malfoy took the staircase tonight," the voice said, making Aria sit up straight again, alert.

"He did?" She asked, suddenly nervous. "Where is he now? I shouldn't be here when he gets here, should I? I didn't think it would happen this fast, I haven't decided what to say," Aria said running her hands over her face in thought. "Why today of all days! What do I do? I need to leave, it's too soon, I can't do this right now," she said, getting to her feet and pacing in a tight circle in the middle of the room. "How much does he know? Did he already come to this room? Did you say anything about me? How much does he know? How do I tell him? What do I tell him?" Aria had widened her pacing circle, falling into her usual pattern of circling the room with a foot of space between her and the walls. "I don't know what to do," she said again, making another lap in silence. Her hands made multiple trip through her short hair, pushing it back over the top of her head, a habit she had picked up sometime in high school. She had passed the dark opening multiple times before her brain took notice of it and what it meant. She froze on the opposite side of the room.

"I'd say you tell him everything, but that's just my opinion," a voice said from the darkened stairway. He took a step forward and the stairs became a wall behind him.

"How- how long have you been there?" Aria asked, having to stop and clear her throat. Her arms crossed automatically across her stomach, her hands gripping the insides of her elbows.

"I was here before you were," he said, raising an eyebrow. He seemed to be making an effort to be polite.

"Oh," she said, her voice coming out as a whisper. She felt her back hit the wall before she realized she had taken a step away from him. "I… need to go," she said, resting her hands against the wall, which fell away behind her, becoming a door. She groped for the handle, afraid to look away from him.

"Wait," he said, and she froze as he took a step forward. "Please," he added, the word coming out harshly, as though he never said it. "Can you just… wait a minute," he said, taking another step toward her. She felt the door fade away, back into a wall, as she thought about it. She wanted to stay, she wanted to make a friend of Draco, but she hadn't thought about what to say to him yet. She hadn't expected him to come here for months, if not a couple years, and her mind had been so preoccupied today with what was going to happen.

"Why did you take the stairs tonight?" Aria asked softly.

"Everyone's busy right now, no one would notice me disappearing for a few hours," he said, shrugging. "And you? Why are you here tonight?" She eyed him with suspicion, not sure what to entrust him with.

"The castle brought me here," she said, ignoring the confused look on his face. "Why are you talking to me? I'm below you in status, you have nothing to gain from being here, you have no reason to not hate me," she asked, narrowing her eyes in anticipation of his answer. He frowned, but not in a mean way. As though he was thinking.

"I've been seeing the staircase for weeks," he began, and she nodded.

"I know, skip ahead," she said, ignoring his frown.

"I guess, I'm just curious about you. And as weird as this sounds, I feel like I'm supposed to trust you, like we should be," he paused, then swallowed before continuing, "friends."

She nodded, then considered. Either he was very good at acting, or he was actually telling the truth.

"You cannot lie here," the disembodied voice said from around them, and Draco jumped, whipping around. Aria nodded, not surprised by the voice anymore. She finally took a step away from the wall.

"Cannot, or should not?" Aria asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Cannot, I do not allow it, everything said here is the truth," it continued, and Draco whipped around to face her again, his face almost panicked, if she could call it that.

"Okay, I believe you," Aria said, facing Draco again. "Lets be friends then," she continued, almost laughing at the surprised look on his face.

"Just like that?" He asked, his eyebrows raising.

"Yeah, well, you heard the castle, its impossible to lie here, though I wonder what would happen…" she said, trailing off, already comfortable enough around Draco to ignore him as she did the room when she was thinking. She began to pace unconsciously, following her normal path, which led her around Draco, who had moved into the middle of the room. "Wait," she said, coming to a stop before she had even made one lap.

"What?" He asked, confused. She ignored him.

"If no one can lie in here… what about all the rambling I've done? There had to be something in there I knew wouldn't happen, thats a lie, isn't it?" She asked, frowning.

"A path exists while you are on it," the voice said softly. "And thoughts are thoughts, neither true nor false until put into action," it continued, and her face cleared as she nodded, then continued pacing.

"So what now?" She asked, coming to a stop in front of Draco, her hands tucked into her pockets.

"Now?" Draco asked, his face calm though his voice shook slightly. Aria frowned and stepped back to look him over. She had always been good at guessing peoples emotions, and maybe since there was nothing else in the room except for the boy in front of her, guessing his emotions was easier than normal.

"Sorry, you must be confused," she said, sitting down in her normal spot in the center of the room, a few feet away from Draco. "Sit, please." She gestured to the floor in front of her. The Draco she knew from the books would never do something as undignified as sitting on a brick floor… but then, that Draco would never have even a slightly civil conversation with her. He sat across from her but didn't say anything. "Ask your questions," she said softly, smiling.

"Who are you?" He asked, frowning.

"Aria Gray," she said simply, knowing that wasn't what he meant. "Next?"

"Where are you from?" He asked, his brows still drawn together.

"Wisconsin, in the United States," she said, smiling slightly. "Next?"

"What is this room then?" He asked.

"I call it the memory room, but it doesn't really have a name. You can share memories here, like a pensieve," she said, smiling.

"Share memories?" He asked, surprised. Aria nodded, then thought carefully for a second and closed her eyes. She brought back her favorite memory, one from the summer between 11th and 12th grade, when she had gone up to the bluffs by the lake and watched the stars for a few hours, and then the sunrise. It was one of the memories of just her, and she spent a lot of time in it when she was homesick. She heard Draco gasp in surprise and she opened her eyes to look at him. He was not, as she had expected, looking around at the scenery, but rather at her. She frowned, then realized what he was seeing and pulled herself away from the memory, becoming separate from her memory self. As she stepped away, Draco's eyes followed her memory self, his head tilted to the side in confusion.

"Next question?" Aria said, drawing his attention back to her younger self.

"Um," he said, blinking and shaking his head as though to try to clear his thoughts away.

"I suppose the obvious ones?" She asked softly, as though speaking to a spooked child, which she supposed she was. Maybe this was too much for an eleven year old to take in. But this particular eleven year old wasn't normal, he'd had to grow up fast in his family, with a father like his. He nodded, keeping his eyes on the grass covered ground. "This is one of my memories, from a few years ago, I am sharing it with you by thinking about it, it can only be done in this room, as far as I know. But we are still in the room, physically, and we can't interfere with the memory, just observe it." He nodded again but didn't speak, instead, he turned his head toward the other girl, then back at her, obviously making the connection, even though the other version of her had long red hair, rather than short brown. Her face was pretty much the same. "I'm not going to explain everything to you right now, though I'm sure you've guessed some things. You have to prove to me that I can trust you before I tell you everything." He looked back at her, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"And how do I do that?" He asked, frowning.

"I dunno," she said, shrugging, but her mouth formed a smile, and he smiled back as though he had no control over the action. Young Draco had really thrown her off her tracks, everyone else had been pretty much as she had expected them to be, but not this boy. "But I'll let you know when I do trust you. And then I'll explain everything." He nodded again, though his face was still drawn in thought. Aria turned to watch the sun peek over the horizon of the lake, throwing bright yellow light over them and the older version of her. She turned her face to the sun and closed her eyes, then let the memory fade out slowly until they were back in the room.

"What did you mean earlier, about fighting a troll?" Draco asked after a few moments, guessing, correctly, that Aria wasn't going to explain anything else about herself.

"Oh, well, someone let a troll into the school tonight," she said, not giving names. "And some students are going to get trapped in a room with it by accident, and they will fight it, and I should be there, probably," Aria said, frowning as she remembered the importance of the night.

"Why are your eyes blue now?" He asked, frowning as he watched her face.

"Well the public story is that I'm a seer, and I have visions," she said, shrugging. "They turn blue apparently, whenever I am thinking about the things I know that haven't happened yet."

"Public story…" he began, but she shook her head, indicating that she wasn't going to elaborate. "Who would let in a troll?" Draco asked, changing subjects. Aria's brows drew together in thought. Draco was acting so out of character for what he needed to be that it threw her off every time. Aria just shrugged in response.

"We can't be friends out there," she said, waving her hand at the ceiling. "You have to hate me in public."

"Why?" He asked, frowning slightly. He wasn't upset, chances were he didn't want anyone to know about this weird room, or this weird friendship.

"It's just easier that way. For now," she said. "I need to go," she said, and a doorway formed on the wall behind Draco. "If you ever need to speak to me just come down here and ask the castle to get me," she said, smiling now.

"The castle?" He asked in confusion.

"The castle is alive too you know," she said. "You talk to it sometimes, it told me. If you stay here after I leave you can ask it to show you," she said, then disappeared through the door before he could respond. The door opened into an empty hallway, a few paces from the door of the girls bathroom. She listened for a moment, but didn't hear anything from inside, which hopefully meant that she hadn't missed the troll. She pushed open one of the wide doors, making sure it didn't fall shut behind her.

"Hermione" She asked softly, moving farther into the room. She heard a sniffle from the last stall and sighed in relief. "Hermione, I was looking for you, I just heard from Lavender that you were in here. I'm so sorry about Ron, he's an idiot."

"I know," Hermione's broken voice came from the stall. Aria pulled the door open and leaned against the doorframe. She smiled at Hermione, who smiled back and tried to wipe her tears from her face.

"He was wrong you know. You do have friends. I'm one of them, and Neville is another," Aria said, offering her hand to Hermione. Hermione took it and Aria pulled the girl up to her feet. As they exited the stall, the door slammed shut loudly and a horrible smell filled the room. Hermione screamed and Aria whipped around to face the troll, pulling her wand from her robe pockets. The door flew open a moment later and Ron and Harry ran in, both holding their wands in front of them and staring up at the troll. Hermione's wand, and school books, lay scattered on the floor from where she had dropped them, and though they were within reach, Hermione was frozen in horror, staring up at the troll which had spotted them and begun to clamber toward them, swinging its club as it went and knocking the stalls apart. Aria pulled Hermione underneath the row of sinks as a particularly large pieces of stall flew towards them.

"Do something!" Hermione screeched as it came closer to them.

"Hey!" Ron called, making the troll turn towards them. It stumbled as it turned, nearly falling into the sinks.

"Over here," Harry called, waving his arms above his head. The troll took a step toward them and Aria tried to drag Hermione closer to the door, but she wouldn't budge.

"Come on," Aria hissed at Hermione, not wanting to draw the trolls attention back to them. The beast was dangerously close to the boys now, and clearly, neither of them knew what to do. Aria was out from older the sinks and across the room before she knew what she was doing.

"Hey stupid!" She yelled, and the troll turned toward her, lowering it's upraised club that had been positioned to crush Ron. It grunted, then stumbled as Harry jumped onto its back, his wand going straight up its nose. The troll flailed around, crashing into more stalls, then a couple porcelain sinks.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Ron said clearly, stressing the right syllables and moving his wand correctly as Hermione had corrected him on just that morning. The trolls club flew from its hands into the air above its head, then fell with a loud thunk. The troll's eyes rolled back and it collapsed forward, unconscious. Harry climbed off its back as Aria turned to grab Hermione's things from the floor and shove them back into her bag.

"Come on," she said, dragging Hermione up by the hand. "Someone must have heard all that noise. We should-"

"Going somewhere?" A cold voice drawled from the doorway, making Aria's words cut off. The four of them exchanged a look, then fell silent as Snape entered the room and looked at the troll, then at the two boys, both covered with water from a burst pipe that Aria hadn't noticed until now. Then he looked at the girls, his eyes narrowing at the sight of Aria, clutching her wand in one hand and Hermione's hand in the other.

"What on earth-" Professor McGonagall began, running into the room, followed by professor Flitwick.

Aria let out a breath of relief as Professor McGonagall began chastising them.

"It was my fault, Professor," Hermione said, making Ron and Harry look at her in surprise. Aria, who was closest to Harry, nudged him with her elbow, and when he looked over at her, she gave him a look that clearly said to go with it. "I went looking for the troll. I thought I could handle it, I've read all about them you see, only, I was wrong. If it hadn't been for Harry, Ron, and Aria, I'd be dead," she said, her chin lower than normal as she spoke.

"Well," McGonagall began, looking between them. "Ten points from you, Ms. Granger, for stupid, reckless behavior. Return to your common room, at once."

Hermione's eyes met the floor as she lowered her head and left the room.

"You three," she began again, looking at them. "Not many first years could have taken down a fully grown mountain troll. Five points each, for sheer dumb luck."

When the three of them returned to the common room, Hermione was waiting for them. The four of them looked at each other awkwardly, then they all mumbled 'thanks' and went their separate ways. After that, they all sat together for meal times, and even Ron was civil to Aria, though she still wasn't sure what she had done in the first place to make him angry.

She didn't talk to Draco again for several weeks, though she could feel his eyes on her at meal times or during class. Sometimes she would look up in the hallway and catch his eye, but she would always look away before his face could form a questioning look. He hadn't been mean to any of them since the proposed duel in the trophy room, and she was growing concerned that when it came time for him to get Harry and Hermione detentions, he wouldn't be there. She would have to find some way to get him to Hagrid's at the right moment, so he could see the baby dragon.

The morning of Harry's first Quidditch game came quickly, and Hermione, Ron, and Aria were sitting around him at the breakfast table, trying to get him to eat.

"Come on," Ron said through a mouth full of food. Hermione gave him a disgusted look that he ignored. "You'll need your strength for the game." At that comment, Harry's face grew even paler.

"Harry," Hermione said, but she was cut off by Oliver Wood approaching them to drag Harry away.

"Good luck," Aria called after him, then returned to her own breakfast of toast and coffee. Hermione and Ron both hated the stuff and Ron would make fun of her for drinking it sometimes, but she didn't care. The taste of coffee was familiar to her, and it made her less homesick. She still visited the memory room nearly every day, sometimes to think aloud, sometimes just to watch the stars in her memory. The castle would always tell her if someone was looking for her while she was there, and she could leave to a different part of the castle, usually the library, and say she had been there all along. It had been a bit harder to go to the room now that she was friends with the boys, they didn't have any concept of privacy, so if she disappeared for too long, they would question her relentlessly until she could change the subject.

Aria wasn't going to go to Harrys game. She knew how it turned out and she was never really big on sports. Plus, she had a more important task to do today. She needed to see Professor Snape. She hadn't told the others she wouldn't be going, she would simply 'forget' something in her dorm and run back for it, then later she would tell them that she hadn't been able to find them in the stands so she had watched the game alone. She knew the game would last for just over an hour, short, compared to other games, and she would have to be at the pitch when it ended to make her story believable. The others started heading down after breakfast, even though the game didn't start for another half hour.

"Oh," Aria said as the others headed down the stairs of the castle. "I need to drop my bag off real quick," she said, gesturing to the book bag she had taken to breakfast only because she had spent all night awake in the memory room and rushed to catch up to them in the morning. Now it made the perfect excuse.

"Why do you have that with you anyway? Its Saturday," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"I went to the library this morning to work on my essay for Defense and I forgot to drop it off before breakfast," Aria said, smiling at his impatience. "I'll meet you in the stands in a minute," she said, then disappeared inside before they could comment. She waited until the entrance hall cleared before making her way down to the dungeons.

She took a deep breath before knocking on Snape's office door and only had to wait a few seconds before the door flew open.

"Yes?" He drawled, his eyes narrowing slightly as he realized who was disturbing him. "Why aren't you at the game with your little friends?"

"I need you to teach me occlumency," Aria blurted out nervously. Snape's eyebrows rose, then drew together in suspicion.

"And why," he drawled, "should I do that?" Aria glanced down both ends of the hallway before speaking.

"Because you are the best one in the school to learn occlumency from, and because I know things that shouldn't be known by certain people," she said so quietly that he had to lean forward a little to catch it all. He sneered at her.

"Yes, the knowledge of an eleven year old girl obviously contains the worlds most important information," he sneered. She rolled her eyes. She'd known he would be difficult, but she had really hoped she wouldn't have to tell him anything important.

"I know that you are in love with Lily Evans. I know the real reason you hate Harry so much. I know that when Voldemort comes back in three years you will serve him, but secretly you are always loyal to Dumbledore. I know…"

"Enough," he snapped, taking a step into the classroom. She followed him in, shutting the door behind her. He turned to glare at her. "Dumbledore has told me a little about the circumstances of you being here."

"Then you must know that I know things that could end this world," Aria said, purposefully trying to sound overdramatic. "I need to be able to shield myself from anyone trying to get into my mind."

"It has been discussed," Snape said, his expression defeated. "I will teach you occlumency every Tuesday and Friday at eight o'clock in the evening. If anyone is to ask what you are doing, you will tell them you are taking-"

"Remedial Potions," Aria said along with him, rolling her eyes. "Fine."

"I am still your professor Ms. Gray," Snape hissed, his face becoming angry again. "You will treat me with respect."

"Of course sir," Aria said, bowing her head slightly. He narrowed his eyes again, trying to figure out if she was mocking him or not.

"Now go away," he said, whirling away from her.

"Aren't you going to come see the match sir?" She asked, knowing he had to be there for at least the second half of the game when Harry's broom would be cursed. Snape had to be there to do the counter curse.

"No," he said, sitting in his chair behind his desk. "I told you to leave."

"It's going to be an interesting game though, Professor," Aria said, repressing a smile. Her eyes were bright blue as she spoke, which she knew would make Snape more likely to listen to her, especially if Dumbledore had told him about her 'visions'. "How are you at counter curses?" She asked, then disappeared through the door before he could respond. She took the darkened staircase that appeared in the wall before her without a second thought, hurrying to be gone before Snape could leave his office. She made a quick stop in her dorm to drop off her bag then found herself just outside the front doors of the castle.

"You make my life a lot easier, you know," she muttered to the stone wall. She stayed hidden behind a bush by the door to see if Snape would go to the game. She wasn't sure what she would do if he didn't. She didn't have long to worry though; the professor left the castle only five minutes later, maybe twenty minutes after the game had started. She let him get all the way down to the pitch before she left her hiding place to follow him.

She spent the remainder of the game behind the stands listening to the commentary, and watching the teachers section from her place. She saw when Quirrell started to mutter under his breath, it was only a few seconds before she saw Snape copy the actions. She didn't see Hermione, but less than five minutes later, Harry was rushing toward the ground, hand clasped over his mouth, and then the game was won. In the confusion of the leaving crowd, Aria managed to sneak into the pitch unnoticed, picking her way over to Harry.

"Nice job!" She said, coming within hearing distance of the team. She gave him a hug, which seemed to surprise him, then turned to find the Weasley twins to congratulate them. She had a wide grin on her face the whole time, matching everyone else's attitude.

"Hey! Where were you? Did you see the game at all?" Hermione shouted over the crowd of Gryffindor's. Aria waited until she was closer to reply.

"Sorry! I couldn't find you guys in the stands so I watched from over there," she gestured to the ground near the locker rooms where a few students had been sitting watching the game. "What was up with Harry's broom?"

"I'll tell you later," Hermione said, conscious of the people around them. Aria nodded and they both turned to join in the celebrations, somehow ending up back in the Gryffindor common room. Fred and George appeared later with snacks and things from the kitchens, and the party went on well past midnight. Aria stayed in the common room until it emptied to listen to the other three recount their versions of what had happened.

"It had to be Snape," Ron said angrily. The others nodded along while Aria shrugged her shoulders.

She went to bed that night exhausted, but unable to sleep. She tossed and turned for hours before finally giving up on sleep and making her way down to the memory room as was usual on her sleepless nights.

"Hello again," she whispered tiredly to the room. It didn't respond as she layed on her back in the middle of the floor and pulled up a memory of herself watching the stars last summer. She let the memory envelop her, closing her eyes, though she could still see the images of the stars that her memory self was staring up at.

"Would you trust me if I shared my memories with you?" Draco's voice startled her from her own memory several minutes later, maybe hours, she wasn't sure. She knew the memory had faded around her, but she didn't open her eyes, instead focusing on the same memory again.

"Probably not," she said softly, feeling the grass underneath her.

"Why not?" He sounded frustrated.

"Because I know the person you are supposed to turn into and I wouldn't trust that person very much," she said, sighing. She heard him settle onto the grass a few feet away from her.

"So you won't trust me because of something I haven't done yet?" He asked, and she could hear the frown in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, shrugging against the grass, not sure if he could even see her. "Usually I'm a bit more lenient with who I trust, but in this case its too important to make mistakes." He was silent for a few minutes.

"What can I do to change your mind?" He asked at last, and she finally opened her eyes and moved her head so she was looking at him, drawing herself out of her memory self, now lying beside her much older body, and closer to him.

"I don't know yet," she said, watching his face as he stared up at the stars. "Actually," she said a moment later, sitting up. "You can start by making fun of Harry Potter about the game," she said, and his eyes flew to her in confusion.

"Isn't he one of your friends?" He asked and she smiled slightly.

"Yes," she nodded. "But you are supposed to be his biggest enemy here, for a few years at least. You are supposed to hate him."

"Um, why?" He asked.

"I don't know, thats just how it's supposed to be," she said, shrugging.

"This has something to do with you knowing the future doesn't it?" He asked, and she gave him a grin in response. He was silent for another moment.

"How do you know all these thing?" He asked, frowning. "How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"I'm a seer," she said again, shrugging. "I have these visions, sometimes I just know. But it's always true." He looked her over, a frown on his face.

"I don't know if I believe you," he said, sitting up to face her. She let the memory fade again, bringing them back to the memory room.

"That's okay. I don't trust you so why should you trust me?" She asked rhetorically.

"I don't know," he answered anyway, looking down at his lap. "I just feel like I'm supposed to trust you." They were both quiet for a moment, but without the distraction of the stars, it grew awkward.

"Just so you know, I like this version of you much better than the one I was expecting you to be," she said at last.

"Thanks, I think," he said, and she let out a small laugh. "So, being mean to Potter?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in a way that had become familiar to her over the last few weeks.

"Yep. I would start with using a comparison between him and a wide mouthed toad," she said, smiling. He laughed.

"Thats a good one," he said, also smiling.

"You would think so, you came up with it," she muttered under her breath. He raised an eyebrow again, but she didn't elaborate. "You should also think about going home over Christmas break," she said, bringing it up now even though it was only the middle of November. His face fell a little.

"I was planning on staying," he said, and this time it was her tilting her head in confusion.

"Don't you want to see your mother?" She asked. She had thought he had gotten on with his parents during school.

"Yeah, she's fine," he said, shrugging. "She wants me to come home for the holidays."

"You should go. It's only a couple weeks, you can avoid your father for that long if you need to," she said softly. His face hardened immediately, but then the mask fell again, as though he was putting an effort into being open with her. "Sorry, it's none of my business, I know. It's hardly fair of me to make you share things with me if I'm not sharing with you."

"It's alright I guess, I'm just not used to…" He trailed off, trying to find the right words.

"Having friends?" She suggested, not unkindly.

"I guess. My father thinks its better to keep to ourselves and just show off how great we are," he said. She nodded.

"It must have been lonely for you, growing up alone in a mansion with nobody else your age to talk to," she said softly. She had no idea what it was like to be alone as a child. Sure, her parents had shared custody so she spent summers with one and school year with another, but she'd always had her sister, and a few friends at both places. Draco just nodded, not concerned that she knew more about him then he had told her.

"It wasn't really lonely, just kinda… boring. I never did any of the things that normal children do, but neither did any of the other pureblood children. We were all raised to be polite and taught how to get our way in the world. We had house elves though," his voice brightened at the mention, then he frowned. "Father was not happy when he found out I spoke to them. He forbid me from talking to them unless I was giving orders."

"I'd like to meet a house elf some day," Aria said wistfully. "They sound wonderful."

"They're okay I guess," he said, shrugging. "So how does it work? The things you see? What do you see?"

"I only know whats important to the outcome I want," she said.

"Outcome of what?" He asked, and she hesitated before answering.

"Outcome of the war," she said softly.

"War?" He asked, his face not surprised.

"Voldemort is going to come back, and there will be a war… and when there is, I'm sorry Draco, but when he comes back, you have to be on his side."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: The Mirror of Erised

"I just don't understand why we can't find anything about Nicholas Flamel in these books," Hermione said one evening about a week before Christmas, slamming the book down onto the table. The four of them had been trying to figure out who the man Hagrid mentioned was for a few weeks now. Of course, Aria knew where to find him, but she figured that Harry should probably be the one to figure it out, since thats how it happened in the books.

"Maybe we aren't looking in the right books," Aria said, hinting to her a little.

"You're right," Hermione said slowly.

"This is a waste of time," Ron whined, putting his book down too. Harry closed his book with a snap, all of them were tired of reading. "You're supposed to be a seer or whatever, tell us where to look."

Aria sighed. She had been wondering when Ron would become bored enough point that out.

"A seer?" Harry asked, brows raised as he looked over the top of the pile of books in front of him

"Supposedly," Aria repeated, shrugging. "That's what Dumbledore said anyway."

"I've read about divination," Hermione said frowning. "It's not a very accurate art, subject to all kinds on interference."

"I've never studied it," Aria said, leaning back as they all looked at her now. "Dumbledore said it's in my blood. He said that is why my eyes change color sometimes, when I get visions."

"I wondered about that," Hermione said, nodding. "I thought it would be rude to ask though."

"Nah, it's fine," Aria said, smiling a little. "I don't really get how it works. It only started last summer, when I found out magic was real. It's not very accurate either. My visions are only little glimpses of things and usually I can't figure them out till it happens." Hermione nodded at that explanation. "Besides, Dumbledore told me not to tell about what I see."

"Yeah because you've followed every other rule here too," Ron said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"So you don't know what books to look in?" Harry asked, trying to avoid another argument.

"I have no idea," Aria said, shrugging.

"This is pointless," Ron said. 'we've checked everywhere."

"Not," Hermione began, leaning in closer, "in the restricted section." Ron's mouth was hanging open in surprise and Harry was shaking his head.

"We'd never get in there, there are always too many people around," Harry said, frowning.

"You three are all staying over Christmas though, aren't you? There will be less people around then," Hermione said, her voice barely above a whisper. Harry's eyes were sparkling with excitement and he exchanged a look with Ron. "While I'm away you three have to check there, its the only place we haven't looked." Hermione said, closing her book with a look of finality on her face. Aria nodded along with the other two, knowing she would never actually have a chance to look in the restricted section.

The classes leading up to Christmas got increasingly more exciting, except for Potions. And Defense. The Great Hall was decorated immaculately, and before she knew it, classes had ended and everyone was getting ready to go home. Harry, Aria, and the Weasley's would be the only people left in Gryffindor, and a couple other students from the other houses were staying. She hadn't spoken to Draco since she mentioned the war. He hadn't been upset about it as she had expected, but he had been avoiding her recently. She was glad that there would be two weeks straight of not having to watch herself so closely around everyone, and that there would be two weeks without occlumency lessons. They had been going much better than Harry's would in later years, because Aria had experience with emptying her mind, but Snape was always able to break through any walls she put up, and each image he saw brought up more questions, and the lessons usually ended with him kicking her out because she wouldn't tell him anything.

The morning of Christmas found Aria already wide awake. Loud wind blowing against the windows had awoken her sometime near two and she had been unable to fall back to sleep. She didn't lift her head until she heard the elf that brought gifts come and go.

She stayed in her pajamas while she opened her tiny pile of gifts. Aria hadn't been expecting anything, since she had no family here and she didn't really know anyone well enough to expect gifts from them, but she should have expected the lumpy round parcel, which was a knitted sweater from Mrs. Weasley in a dark gray color, with a golden A stitched onto the front of it. Mrs. Weasley had also sent a tin full of candies that looked homemade. Aria put the sweater on over her pajamas, smiling and resisting the sudden urge to cry from homesickness. It wasn't like she'd had a family Christmas since high school anyway, she had no reason to be upset. There were also candies from Harry and Ron, and a book from Hermione about Divination which looked pretty interesting. Aria had also gotten Hermione a book, one on Ancient Runes, a class they wouldn't have until third year, but she knew Hermione loved the subject. She had gotten Ron a new Wizard's Chess set, and Harry a book about ancient myths and beasts. Somewhere in that book was a chapter on a Basilisk, though she knew he wouldn't read it. She had also given the twins a box of muggle fireworks to mess around with.

She made her way down to the common room in her sweat pants and the sweater from Mrs. Weasley with the book Hermione had gotten her, curling up on a chair near the fire to read until the boys woke up. Jupiter joined her there. He usually spent most of his time up in the dorm rooms, or out on the grounds. She had seen him disappearing into the forest before, but she never worried when he stayed away for days at a time. He had seemed not to like people much, besides her, and he absolutely refused to follow her down the dark stairs into the memory room. She had only tried to bring him once. Now that the common room was empty though, he had followed her out of the dorm room and down the stairs. Though the witch at the shop had said he was still growing, Aria had only noticed a small amount of growth over the last few months. He was now just a little larger than an average house cat, enough to draw attention but not enough that anyone who wasn't looking for it noticed the size.

It didn't take as long as she had thought it would before the others came bounding down the stairs, followed closely by the twins and a disgruntled Percy.

"Happy Christmas!" The twins and Ron shouted happily.

"Happy Christmas," she echoed back, smiling at them.

"Thanks for the fireworks," One of the twins said, leaning against the arm of her chair.

"Can you show us how they work?" The other one asked, leaning against the other arm.

"Sure," she said, laughing. "Later." The small group spent most of the morning in the common room, only leaving to get dressed for lunch in the Great Hall.

"You'll never guess what I got for Christmas," Harry said as he and Ron walked down to lunch with her. The twins were too busy bothering Percy to hear them talking.

"An invisibility cloak?" She asked, smiling at the look of shock on his face. It was a lot of fun to mess with people.

"How did you- never mind," he said, shaking his head. "I'm going to use it to get into the restricted section tonight. Do you want to come? I'd take Ron, but he's not very good at being sneaky, or quiet."

"Sure," she said, nodding.

"I don't want to go anyway," Ron said. "That part of the library gives me the creeps."

"How would you know? I don't think I've ever seen you in the library," Aria said, laughing along with Harry. Ron grumbled as they entered the hall, but he was quickly distracted by the food. Aria didn't eat much, instead focusing on reading the next chapter of the book Hermione had given her. Divination had always intrigued her, even when magic didn't exist, and especially now that it did.

"What's so interesting about that book?" Harry asked when the two boys had emptied their plates multiple times and Aria was absentmindedly pushing food around hers. "You haven't put it down all day."

"It's about Divination," she said, not really listening.

"Yeah, I guessed that from the title. 'Divining Divination'. Real creative there," he said sarcastically.

"Just wait till you have to read through 'Unfogging the Future', that ones real interesting," she responded in the same tone of voice, not looking up from her book.

"So why so interested in Divination?" He asked, taking a bite out of one of the cookies that had appeared on round plates along the tables.

"I figure since I have visions, maybe I can do some of these other things, or maybe I'll find something that will make my visions clearer," she said, paying attention to the conversation now.

"Right, visions. I forgot. Thats how you always know things before I tell you?" He asked, forehead creasing in thought.

"That, and I'm really good at guessing. You, sir, are predictable," she said, laughing.

"You've only known me for four months, how am I predictable?" He asked, frowning.

"I'm just good at reading people I guess," she said, shrugging and returning to her book in an obvious way so as to end the conversation. He went along with it, instead turning to Ron to talk about Quidditch.

That night Aria, Harry, and Ron sat in the common room until the rest of the Weasley's finally went up to bed, then Harry and Ron followed them up, Harry returning moments later with the invisibility cloak. The two of them set out for the restricted section of the library, Harry leading the way and Aria carrying an unlit lantern for use in the library. As they rounded the corner to the library, Aria suddenly remembered that Dumbledore had to be in the room with the mirror, he had to know what Harry would see, because he knew it later. The old man probably had some sort of wards set up near the mirror to let him know when someone found it, but just in case, she would have to find a way to let him know they would be there later. Maybe when Harry was busy looking at books she could tell the castle and the castle could tell him. Maybe the castle would tell him anyway without her asking.

"Okay," Harry said, opening the gate to the restricted section carefully and walking through it. Aria glanced around them as they shed the invisibility cloak, then she lit the lantern with the matches she'd kept in her pocket. "Should we split up?" He asked, squinting through the darkness at the towering shelves.

"Sure," she said, shrugging. "Leave the lantern here in the middle so I can see the next shelf and you can start here." Once he nodded, she walked around the shelf and out of his eyesight. She laid a hand against the stone wall and whispered to the castle about her plans for the night, asking if it would tell Dumbledore where they would be. Once the castle had agreed, Aria pulled a book from the shelf just for show, staying close to the lantern, waiting for the moment Harry would pick the screaming book. If was only a few moments, but she was expecting it, so she jumped into action immediately, grabbing the invisibility cloak from next to the lamp, knocking it over in the process. In the near blackness, Aria threw the cloak over herself, then reached in front of her for Harry. Finding his arm, she quickly pulled him toward her and threw the cloak over him as well, just as Filtch entered the library, holding a lantern over his head.

"I know you're in here my pretties, you can't hide," he called, stalking toward the open gate of the restricted section. Aria and Harry didn't breathe as he came within inches of them, but at the first opportunity, the two of them ducked under his arm and out the gate, running out of the library and not stopping until they were many hallways away. They glanced at each other in the faint light coming in the windows, and suddenly both of them were laughing. They fell silent with fear as a circle of light bloomed in front of them.

"You said to come straight to you Professor, if anyone was mucking about after dark, and someone's been in the restricted section," the heard Filtch say, and saw his arm holding up the lantern they had left behind. The two of them didn't breathe as they sidled past him and Professor Snape, choosing the first slightly open door to hide in. The door didn't squeak on it's hinges as Aria pushed it mostly closed behind them. Harry shrugged off the cloak and walked further into the room while Aria listened at the door. The two men had finished their conversation and moved away. She let out a breath of relief and closed the door all the way, then turned around. It was an unused classroom, exactly the same as any of their other classrooms, but dustier, and with no desks. Where the teachers desk would have been was a large ornate mirror, and Harry was standing directly in front of it, his mouth hanging open in shock. Aria knew what the mirror was, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to look into it. She didn't want to be stuck with the image of her whole split apart family, or whatever other group of people the mirror would show her.

"Aria," Harry breathed, not looking away from the mirror. "Look!" Aria slowly walked down the wide stairs that led to the mirror and let out a sigh.

"I don't see anything Harry," she said, glancing at the mirror.

"But look! It's my family… my whole family," he whispered, staring. "Can't you see them?"

"No, I can't," she said softly.

"Well here, stand where I was and look properly," Harry said, scowling slightly and moving aside. Aria took a deep breath, but shook her head.

"No thanks," she said, letting out her breath with the words.

"Come on, just look," he said, frowning at her.

"I don't want to look," she said, glancing back to the door.

"But I can see everyone," Harry said in an awed voice. "My parents," he whispered. "You should see them."

"Well I wouldn't see your parents would I?" She said, rolling her eyes. "I'd probably see mine."

"Well I want to see them," Harry said, begging her to look in the mirror now.

"You wouldn't be able to," she said, tucking her hands in her pockets and shaking her head. "I can't see yours."

"Fine," he said, giving up and looking back into the mirror at the people Aria couldn't see. She let him stay there for a few minutes before sighing again.

"Harry, we should go before we get caught," she said, glancing at the door and unfolding the invisibility cloak she had been holding. Harry sighed and glanced one more time into the mirror, then let her throw the cloak over him and lead the way back to Gryffindor tower.

"I mean, I should just go look in the stupid thing, right? Otherwise I'll always wonder what I would have seen…" Aria ranted to herself as she paced around the memory room. Christmas vacation had ended that day, and classes were going to start in the morning, but Aria could not get to sleep. Every night after she had visited the mirror room, her thoughts were filled with what she might see if she looked in the mirror, and her dreams, if she managed to fall asleep, were the same. It had become an every day habit to brush concealer over the dark rings under her eyes from lack of sleep. It had also become an every day habit to pace around the memory room ranting to herself. As the only girl remaining in Gryffindor tower, she could have just stayed in her dorm room to rant to herself, but there was just something about the memory room that called to her.

"But what if I don't see anything? What if I don't like what I see?" She continued, repeating the same points she had been making all week. She made another lap of the room in silence, then collapsed in the middle of the room, laying back with her arms folded under her head and one leg crossed over the other to stare up at the invisible ceiling. The light in the room, which she still hadn't figured out the source of, only lit the walls, and though she could feel the ceiling above her, it appeared as a pitch black block of space, which was nearly as good to stare up at while thinking as the memories of the night sky.

"But, I have to, don't I?" She asked herself in a small voice. "I have to know."

"Have to know what?" Draco's voice came from right behind her, surprising her into a sitting position. She hadn't heard him coming in, but she should have guessed he would be here eventually. He liked the room as much as she did, and after two weeks spent with his family, of course he would want to come here to try to forget the bad things for a while.

"Oh it's just this stupid…" she began, but then trailed off as an idea hit her suddenly.

"What?" He asked, watching her face as a smile began to grow on it. He frowned, confused.

"There's this room, with this mirror," she began, focusing back on him. "You said you wanted to share your memories with me to prove that I can trust you right?" She waited, and he nodded. "Well I know of one you can share with me, but you have to go make it first. There's the room, with the mirror, I want you to go look in it, and then come back here and show me the memory of it," she said, grinning excitedly.

"Will you do the same then?" He asked, his brows drawn. Her smile fell away in an instant.

"Why?" She asked, trying to gather her thoughts again.

"Because I don't know if I trust you yet either," he said, looking around the room as he spoke, not wanting to see her expression. She watched him for a moment, her eyes narrowing in thought.

"Alright," she said finally, surprising both him, and herself. "Fine, I'll show you. But you have to go first."

"Okay," he said. "Alright, where's this room?"

The two of them took the doorway from the memory room that led anywhere they wanted, this time letting them out in the unused classroom. Draco glanced around them for a moment, catching sight of the mirror, but looking over the rest of the classroom before stepping toward it.

He looked into it for a moment, then took a half step back, then leaned forward to peer at the image closer. He glanced over at Aria for a second, then back at the mirror. He watched the image for another few minutes, then he frowned and looked at the floor, stepping away to let her know it was her turn to look. Aria took a deep breath and tucked her shaking hands into the pockets of the pajama pants she had worn to bed that night and stepped forward.

She kept her eyes on the ground for a moment, then, finally, looked up into the mirror. For a second, she could only see herself reflected back, the young self with brown hair and no figure. But then, as she watched, she began to grow into the self she had remembered from before she came here, red hair, older, and smiling, without the stress lines that Aria hadn't realized she'd developed since coming here. Then the image grew more, other people coming into view behind her. Her old friends, her sister, even her not-so-serious ex boyfriend that she had somehow managed to stay friends with after they broke up a couple months before the crash. Aria frowned while looking at them, wondering why the mirror showed her them. Yes, she missed them all, and she missed having the ability to look after herself and be respected, no matter how little, as an adult. But really, she didn't miss her old life that much. No, what she missed was something she'd never really had in the first place, someone to talk to. Real, tangible people, people that had know her for years and understood her without her having to explain anything. Real friends that actually knew her.

She had kept her expression mostly clear, not wanting to give Draco any more to think about when she showed him the memory, if his memory wasn't what she expected. She took a step away from the mirror and opened her mouth to speak, but had to stop to clear it.

"Let's get back before someone else comes along," she said, turning to the wall without looking at him and walking forward into the dark staircase that had appeared just a second after she turned.

He followed her silently, not interrupting her thinking. She put the image of her past from her mind and tried to think about what Draco's memory would be. If he was still like he had been in the books, what he saw in the mirror would probably be him, doing something to please his father, or his father telling him he was proud, or something of that nature. So if Draco's memory didn't involve his father, then Aria knew he had already changed, and she would be able to trust him. Well, sort of. Trust him with some things.

"Okay, go ahead," she said, her hands still tucked into her pockets. He looked at her for a moment, then shrugged and closed his eyes. The room was silent for a moment, then the image changed into the room they had just left. Draco pulled himself away from his memory self and watched as the present version of Aria walked with the past version of himself to the mirror. She waited a moment, just seeing Draco's face reflected back, and then suddenly there were other faces in the mirror as well, and memory Draco took a half step back. His parents were right behind him, but it wasn't what she had thought it would be, the Draco in the mirror wasn't trying to prove to his father how great he was, instead, both his parents were smiling, and mirror Draco was grinning. Behind his parents came his Slytherin friends, but instead of sulking and glaring as most of them tended to do, they were smiling too. The memory Draco leaned forward to watch them more, and Aria made one tiny glance back at present Draco. He had been staring at the mirror too, but looked at her when she moved. She glanced back and almost smiled, she was in with his friends too, something she hadn't expected. No matter how much he said he didn't trust her, he had to have done, a little, to include her in his mental list of friends. She watched them for a few more moments before he let the memory fade.

"So," she began, looking over at him. He was looking away from her nervously, his eyes running along the brick walls. She didn't say anything else, just smiled and let her memory take the place of his. As he watched what she had seen in the mirror, his face grew more and more confused. She watched his reactions till the end of the memory, then she remembered a few others to share with him. Snippits from her childhood, growing up, her favorite memories of high school and the few years of college she'd taken, happy moments from her job and spending time with her sister and the other people who had been in the mirror, just so he could sort of understand what she'd seen in the mirror. It was only fair, in her mind, since she understood much more of his image than she should have. He wanted a happy loving family, and friends that actually cared about him, not his family name or money. The memories she showed him took maybe five minutes in total, ending with the car crash and her discovering that she was only eleven and somehow in England. When she let the memories fade, his mouth was hanging open in shock. He only closed it and began to move when she had poked him in the face multiple times.

"Um," he said, then stopped and sat on the floor. She sat beside him, smiling a little.

"You have questions?" She asked, still smiling. "I'll do better to answer them this time.

"How old are you?" He asked, glancing over at her.

"Well, I appear to be eleven," she said, then laughed when he rolled his eyes. "I was 23 when I… came here."

"And how did you get here?" He asked, his brows drawn in confusion. She shrugged and tried to sound nonchalant.

"I'm not really sure, I just woke up here," she said, frowning. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the floor, her usual position.

"And how are you younger?" He asked, ignoring her movements.

"I don't know that either," she said, shrugging again though he couldn't see her shoulders any more.

"And the image in the mirror? It means you just miss your old life?" He asked, trying hard to keep his voice calm. She opened her eyes to look at him for a moment before answering.

"No," she sighed, sitting up to be on his eye level again. "It means I miss being, well mostly carefree, and I miss having friends that I can talk to about important things."

"Oh," he said, then was quiet. "Mine meant…" He trailed off, thinking again.

"It meant that what you want the most is to have a happy loving family and friends that you can trust that like you for more than your name and money," she finished for him, smiling a little. He gave her an incredulous look. "I'm good at reading people," she said, shrugging again, this time smiling as well. He shook his head, then smiled too.

"So are you from the future or just the wrong age?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"Both," she said, leaning back against the floor again. This time he copied her motions, both of them gazing up at the black ceiling. She let one of her stargazing memories take over the room again, the two of them laying a ways away from the older version of her.

"So, do you know the whole future? Like, what happens, or just snippets from visions?" He asked, his voice growing excited. Aria would never be able to understand why people wanted to know about the future before it happened. Would you really want to know if something horrible was going to happen, yet not be able to stop it?

"Does your father know occlumency?" She asked, changing the subject blatantly.

"A little," Draco said, shrugging.

"Does he ever use it on you?" She asked.

"Only when I try hiding things from him, like the thing about the elves I told you," he said, his voice quiet.

"I can't tell you anything until you learn occlumency," She said, propping her head onto her arm to look at him. "You have to be able to keep what I say from everyone, including, when the time comes, Voldemort. Otherwise I can't tell you anything, and I've already put myself into danger."

He nodded solemnly, his eyes wide.

"I can teach it to you, but not until maybe next year, I'm still learning," she said, frowning at the memory of those lessons. She had done well at her last lesson, she had blocked Snape for the entire time, save one small memory slipping through at the end of the lesson, of the crash and the following moments. She had left the room shortly after as Snape began to question her on the memory again.

Draco was silent for a few minutes, just looking up at the stars in thought.

"Why do you have so many memories of staring up at the stars?" He finally asked. "Aren't adults supposed to have jobs or something?" Aria laughed at that, not expecting something so child like to come from him, but then, she had to remember, he was a child, even if he was more mature than some adults she knew.

"I did have a job. And in my free time after my job, I liked to look at the stars. Or sunrises. Or the lake," she said when she had calmed down.

"The lake?" He asked, not looking away from the stars.

"Lake Michigan. The town I lived in was right on the edge of it. You saw it I think, in the first memory I showed you." As she spoke, the scene around them changed back into the memory of the sun coming up over the lake that she had showed him before. He sat up to stare out over the huge lake that stretched from one end of the horizon to the other, as far as you could see. They sat in silence for a long time, appreciating the sunrise and then the morning sky. They were quite up to the point that Aria's memory self finally got up from the grass, stretched, and began to walk back along the bluff toward the parking lot. The two younger people didn't move, and Aria didn't supply a new memory, instead letting the scene around them fade back into the brick room as it came to an end. She closed her eyes, the floor feeling as comfortable to her as her bed. It was quite late, by her estimate it was probably around two in the morning, she really should try to sleep before her classes tomorrow… Her eyes flew open as her brain finally registered that the faint sound of crickets she was hearing was not a normal sound of the room. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to faint light around her, but when they did, she sat up straight and looked around her. The small points of light flickered around her in the air, and in her tired state, it took her a moment to realize they were fireflies. She glanced around for Draco and spotted him watching her from a few feet away where he had been sitting before. She cocked her head to the side in question but was quickly distracted as a younger version of Draco, maybe six or seven dashed across the dark yard, a jar in hand. The jar was nearly full of the fireflies, and it glowed like a lantern as the trapped bugs let off their light.

Aria smiled as the young Draco ran across the yard toward the house, giggling with a child's laugh.

"Mum!" He called out as he reached the porch. Aria hadn't seen the woman till then, but she had been sitting on a low bench on the porch, watching the child. "Look!" The young Draco said, coming to a halt in front of her and holding the jar proudly in front of him. "I caught a hundred!"

"Did you count them all?" His mother asked softly, smoothing his hair down with one hand as she took the jar in the other hand, smiling. Aria smiled too as she listened to the child and mother talk. After a few moments, a sliding glass door opened and Draco's father came outside to sit beside his mother. The man listened as Draco told him about catching the bugs, and then he examined the jar for a moment.

"Wait just a second," the man finally said, disappearing into the house with the jar. Draco climbed up onto the bench beside his mother and leaned against her side as they waited for his father. Finally the man came back out and sat so that Draco was between the two adults, and handed the jar back to the boy.

"See there? I poked holes in the top so that your fireflies don't die. You can keep them on your bedside table for tonight, and tomorrow we can let them go, okay?" He said, and the young Draco nodded.

If Aria hadn't seen the man speaking she wouldn't have believed he was capable of behaving like an actual father, but this was something that even muggle children did sometimes, and her eyes watered as she watched the small family walk back into the house together. The memory faded, but she continued looking in the direction of where the door of the house had been until she was sure none of the tears would leak over. She wasn't even sure why she was nearly crying. She waited a few more seconds to make sure her voice wouldn't crack as she spoke, then turned back to the older Draco.

"What was that for?" She asked softly. He shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

"It's my favorite memory. You shared yours, so I thought it was only fair," he mumbled, then leaned back against the floor again to avoid looking in her direction. They were both silent for a few minutes.

"Thank you," she said at last, glancing over at him. "For sharing I mean. It was nice." He didn't say anything, but Aria knew he had heard so she didn't say anything else, just leaned back against the floor with her arms tucked under her head.

Some time later she was drawn into awareness by the castle's voice whispering around her.

"People in your houses are starting to rise," the voice said, and both of them jerked into sitting positions. Aria realized she must have fallen asleep for a while, and Draco must have as well, and got to her feet. They looked at each other for a moment, then parted ways without a goodbye. While Aria was a little used to sharing her memories with Draco, he had never shown her one of his before, besides the mirror memory, and she suspected he wasn't used to sharing emotions or anything with another person, so he would be feeling awkward. She made it into her dorm room just as Hermione was coming back out of the bathroom after a shower. Aria pulled back the hangings around her bed, making it look as though she had just gotten up, and yawned as Hermione greeted her.

"Hey," Aria replied, rubbing her eyes. She was still tired, but thats what she got for staying up half the night. "I'll meet you at breakfast if you want, I just want to take a quick shower."

"Sure," Hermione said, grabbing her own book bag. She opened her mouth to say something else, but just then Lavender pulled back the hangings on her bed too. Hermione mouthed 'later' to Aria, who nodded and rushed to the bathroom.

After her shower, Aria dressed and headed down to the Great Hall, sitting beside Hermione. The boys weren't awake yet, not that Aria was surprised much, and most of the room was empty, just enough chatter from the other students to cover a hushed conversation between Aria and Hermione. They hadn't gotten much chance to speak yesterday with the hectic activity of all the returning students.

"Did you find out anything about Nicholas Flamel?" Hermione whispered to her as Aria spooned oatmeal into her bowl and looked around for the coffee pitcher the elves always sent up for her. At least, she assumed it was for her since no one else at the Gryffindor table drank it.

"No," Aria said, sounding disheartened. "But we did find this mirror…" Aria went on to explain their adventures over the last few weeks, ending with an open mouthed Hermione. Aria nearly smirked as she sipped on her second cup of coffee, and spotted the boys coming into the hall. Hermione waved them over and immediately set into chastising them both for running around the castle at night. Harry glanced at Aria only once, with a look that plainly said 'thanks so much for telling her' and Aria just smiled in reply and finished her breakfast.


End file.
